There's belief NY Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin will have a bounceback season

The 2023-24 season was far from what was expected from NY Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin. Coming off a runner-up finish for the Vezina Trophy, losing out to Linus Ullmark, who was part of the greatest regular season team in NHL history, the sky was the limit for Sorokin.

Sorokin finished the season with a 3.01 GAA and .919 SV%, well below his career averages and his worst in the NHL and KHL.

Lane Lambert and Patrick Roy kept rolling out their franchise goalie, but in the final month, as the Islanders were in a playoff push, Roy turned to veteran Semyon Varlamov to take the reigns. Varlamov played spectacularly, taking the starting job from Sorokin and leading the Islanders to third place in the Metro Division.

Down 2-0 in the first round of the NHL Playoffs, Roy went back to Sorokin for Game 3, looking for a spark to ignite his team. Down 3-0 in the second period and allowing some soft goals, Sorokin was pulled. The lasting image of the Islanders netminder will be him sitting in the tunnel to the locker room from the bench away from everyone else in full gear - a microcosm of his season.

Trust in Sorokin

Heading into 2024-25, the Islanders need Sorokin at his best if they hope to make it to the playoffs again and make a further push towards the Stanley Cup.

NHL Network released their annual goalie rankings yesterday, with Sorokin finishing fifth - three spots below where he was a season before. Not only do the pundits on NHL Network still believe in Sorokin, but so does a large portion of the fanbase.

According to a poll we've conducted on Facebook, 39% of voters still believe that Sorokin is a top 3-5 goaltender in the league. Not only do fans believe he was slotted properly by NHL Network, but 33% still believe he is a top 1-3 goalie.

Sorokin was ready to get back to work right after the Islanders were eliminated from the playoffs, hopeful to put a down season behind him.

"It was a tough season for me and I learned all season. Big experience," Sorokin said. "It's a good time for me because when you don't win, you learn, and I have the confidence and motivation to be better."

He is the most important player for the Islanders, capable of carrying them on his back to a deep run. With his new 8-year $8.25M contract kicking in this season, the pressure will be greater than ever.