Curb Your Expectations For Ilya Sorokin
Amidst some Islanders fans’ lofty expectations for Ilya Sorokin, the team’s young goalie prospect, some scouts are skeptical about how he will perform in his first year in North America.
Sorokin had an extremely successful KHL career. In 244 games, he recorded a .930 save percentage and a 1.73 goals against average. Those numbers improved in 69 playoff games, with the Russian netminder recording a .940 SV% and 1.37 GAA. He won the Gagarin Cup in 2019 with CSKA Moscow and captured Olympic gold in 2018.
Still, some scouts suggest that this won’t translate to the NHL level, at least not immediately. “For me, Sorokin is the biggest gamble of the recent Russian goalie prospects ([the Rangers’ Igor] Shestyorkin and [the Capitals’ Ilya Samsonov]),” a scout from TPEHockey said. “He’s an extremely talented goaltender with some of the best agility, use of flexibility and footwork I’ve ever seen.”
However, he said Sorokin’s technical game is his weakness. “He’s too quick to use flashy saves,” the scout pointed out. “While he is exceptional at them, it can be exposed at the NHL [level]. The question for Sorokin is whether his flashy style will be applicable to the NHL or if his lack of technical game will be exposed by the best league in the world.”
Steven Ellis from The Scout House was slightly more optimistic. He compared him to two-time Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky, outside of this past season in Florida. TPEHockey compared him to Jonathan Quick, another extremely athletic goalie who won two Stanley Cups with Los Angeles.
Ellis said Sorokin’s biggest issue is that he sometimes struggles at cutting off shooting angles. However, he noted that Sorokin’s quickness and athleticism help him get out of those situations. “Often you’ll see a situation where he looks completely out of a play, and then he’ll slide over and a big glover or stick save,” Ellis said.
But some Islanders fans bought the hype. So when betting website Betonline.ag’s Calder Odds didn’t include Sorokin, it stunned them. After all, The Athletic’s Arthur Staple called him “the best goaltender who hasn’t played in the NHL over the last four to five years.”
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Rob Taub of Empire Sports Media scoffed at what he called a “snub” from the sports betting site. “No disrespect to any of those players, but it’s rediculous Sorokin is not there especially [considering] the amount of hype he’s generated before and since he’s arrived,” Taub wrote. BetMGM and Draftkings have since given him 27/1 odds.
But scouts have no expectations that Ilya Sorokin will win the award. “With [Alexis] Lafreniere, [Kirill] Kaprizov, and [Trevor] Zegras, there’s no way Sorokin has a shot at the Calder,” TPEHockey said.
Ellis agreed. “I don’t think he’ll get a real shot at the Calder, and that won’t really be his fault either,” he said. “I can’t imagine [Semyon] Varlamov just moving over and letting Sorokin take over, and the Islanders will give any benefit of the doubt to Varlamov as a veteran.”
But Sorokin has certainly been putting the work in. He practiced with the team in the bubble over the summer. “I worked with the team for plenty of time, three and a half months, starting in the bubble,” Sorokin said.
Sorokin also started English lessons while he was with the team. Islanders Head Coach Barry Trotz said it offered a glimpse into Sorokin’s work ethic. “What I have found with him is a great personality,” Trotz said. “He’s a guy that has a smile on his face. He’s a guy that works at his craft and tries to get better at his craft and looks for the next thing.”
The Russian goaltender also got to work with the Islanders’ goalie coaches Mitch Korn and Piero Greco since he arrived in North America. Ellis and TPEHockey both believe they can fix any small issues Sorokin has. But Ellis reminded Islanders fans that Sorokin still hasn’t played a game in the NHL. “For any rookie goalie, don’t expect results right away, but I think he’s got the potential to be number one guy for the next decade.”
But in game one at the Rangers, Trotz said Semyon Varlamov will start. However, he said he trusts both Varlamov and Sorokin, and that the lack of travel will allow him to better strategize who he’ll start each night. The Islanders and Rangers face off at Madison Square Garden on Thursday at 7 p.m. on MSG+.
Born and raised on Long Island. Isles fan since 2009. Studying journalism at the University of Maryland, College Park.
