New New York Islanders‘ goalie Ilya Sorokin is expected to be the next great NHL goalie. After years of domination in the KHL, Sorokin is ready to come overseas. Sorokin signed a one year deal and then a one-year extension back in May of this year. Sorokin learned under Semyon Varlamov, Thomas Greiss, and Mitch Korn during the Isles long playoff run.
Head coach Barry Trotz has stated that Sorokin’s development and dedication have been exceptional. What should Islanders expect from the best goalie outside of the NHL?
Save Percentage
I’m basing this prediction off of other current NHL goalies and rookie goalies. With the Islanders’ amazing defensive talent and best defensive scheme in Hockey, I predict that Sorokin will have a .912 save percentage.
Varlamov had a .921 percentage last year, so it’s not a crazy prediction. This percentage would place Sorokin within the top 15 best goalies in the league. I imagine that Sorokin doesn’t play close to 40 games next year. There’s no way Trotz just throws Sorokin to the wolves. It’s a great percentage for a rookie goalie.
Goal Against Average
This is the most important goalie stat in all of Hockey, and there’s no debate. It’s basically how many goals do you give up a night. The best goalies only give up around 2.10 goals a night, but Sorokin killed those numbers in the KHL.
In 40 games played, Sorokin recorded a 1.50 GAA. And during the playoffs, he only had a .64 GAA. Sorokin gave up one goal during the playoffs, absolutely insane. I predict that Sorokin will have a 2.34 GAA. That’s a good number, and it’s doable for the best goalie outside the NHL. Again this stat was influenced by how good the Islanders defense is. Especially with almost all of them returning, Sorokin has some help in front of him.