Islanders: Who are their stars in waiting Barry Trotz mentioned?

Ilya Sorokin | Goaltender

He’s without question the best goalie not currently playing in the NHL. He still isn’t signed to a deal with the Islanders, so perhaps this is a little premature, but Islanders fans have received assurances from Lou Lamoriello that Ilya Sorokin will be here in 2020.

"Question from Dennis Anninos: What is the status of Ilya Sorokin and are there discussions to bring him to Long Island? Yes, we have every indication that he will be here for next season."

Through 244 regular-season KHL games, Sorokin has averaged a 1.70 GAA and 0.930 SV%. In the playoffs, where Sorokin won the 2019 playoff MVP as well as the Gagarin Cup with CSKA Moscow, he’s averaged a 1.37GAA and 0.940SV%.

He was also voted as the KHL’s goalie of the year in 2015 and helped the “Olympic Athletes of Russia” win a gold medal in the 2018 winter games.

Sorokin is clearly an incredible player and he hasn’t yet reached the NHL. Playing for Barry Trotz and Mitch Korn should easily help him turn into that top tier starter we all think he can be again.

Here’s a list of goalie that Mitch Korn has worked with over his career:

Dominik Hasek, Tomas Vokoun, Pekka Rinne, and Braden Holtby.

Together they have eight Vezina trophies. (Although Hasek accounts for 75 percent of that with his incredible six Vezina trophies.)

Vokoun is the only one not to win a Vezina trophy, though the Czech goalie finished fourth in voting back in 2005-06 when he held a 36-18-7 record and averaged a 0.919SV% and 2.67GAA.

Mitch Korn and goalie coach Piero Greco have already proven they can get results. Just look at how Robin Lehner, Thomas Greiss, and Semyon Varlamov had demonstrable improvements in their play under the tutelage of Korn and Greco.

With Sorokin’s innate talent, Korn and Greco’s lessons, and Barry Trotz’s defensive system, there’s no doubt Sorokin is a star in waiting.