NY Islanders Ilya Sorokin ranked amongst elite in NHL Network’s Top 10 goaltenders

Ilya Sorokin continues to be recognized as one of the NHL’s elite goaltenders.

NHL Network ranked the New York Islanders netminder fourth on its list of the Top 10 Goaltenders Right Now, placing him behind only Andrei Vasilevskiy, Connor Hellebuyck and Igor Shesterkin.

That is some pretty good company.

Each of the three goaltenders ranked ahead of Sorokin has either won the Vezina Trophy or remains firmly in that conversation. Vasilevskiy first captured the award in 2019, Hellebuyck has established himself as one of the league’s most decorated active goaltenders, and Shesterkin won it in 2022.

Sorokin has yet to take home the trophy himself, but he came close during the 2022-23 season, when he finished as a finalist alongside Hellebuyck and eventual winner Linus Ullmark.

That makes one of the more noticeable parts of NHL Network’s latest ranking the names that did not make the list.

Ullmark, now with the Ottawa Senators, was left outside the Top 10 despite winning the Vezina just three seasons ago. Also absent is Sergei Bobrovsky, a two-time Vezina winner who will enter his first season with the Toronto Maple Leafs at age 37.

The rest of NHL Network’s ranking included Jeremy Swayman at No. 5, Logan Thompson at No. 6, Jake Oettinger at No. 7, Dan Vladar at No. 8, Jesper Wallstedt at No. 9 and Jakub Dobes at No. 10. The inclusion of some younger goaltenders after having impressive post-seasons shows how capable and even streaky goaltenders can be from year-to-year.

For the Islanders, Sorokin remaining near the top of lists like this is hardly surprising.

He has been one of the franchise’s most important players for years and continues to provide the Isles with the high-end goaltending capable of stealing games. They'll need that again this season if they plan to stay in the playoff mix. The hope is that the return of Semyon Varlamov will give Sorokin enough of a break that he won't struggle down the stretch as he has in past years.

Sorokin may still be searching for his first Vezina Trophy, but NHL Network’s ranking makes it clear that after last season, he is fully entrenched as being viewed as one of the NHL's best.

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