Islanders' Ilya Sorokin returns to the ice as things are 'going well'

It was a few minutes before 9:30 Wednesday morning and there was Ilya Sorokin, fully dressed and on the ice stopping pucks at Northwell Health Ice Center.

Exhale, Islanders fans.

“All I can say is things are going well,” said Patrick Roy, after Sorokin was seen for the first time on the ice during training camp taking shots from goaltending coach Piero Greco. The franchise netminder had not participated in training camp since having offseason back surgery, although he had been skating.

“It’s going well,” Roy said. “And we’ll go day-by-day.”

It was not immediately clear if Wednesday marked the first time Sorokin had faced shooters. An Islanders spokesman declined comment when Newsday asked if Sorokin had taken shots at any point during this training camp prior to Wednesday’s session.

Sorokin was unavailable for comment.

One of the overarching questions for the Islanders entering training camp was how Sorokin would bounce back after a somewhat disappointing 2023-24 season. Sorokin finished last season with a 3.01 goals against average and .909 save percentage and had been usurped as the team’s No. 1 goaltender by Semyon Varlamov.

Sorokin played in only one playoff game last spring, allowing three goals on 14 shots in the Islanders’ 3-2 loss to Carolina in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.

So this was seen as an important training camp for Sorokin, especially considering the eight-year, $66 million contract extension he signed with the Islanders on July 1, 2023, begins this season.

During a pre-training camp interview session with reporters on Sept. 13, general manager and team president Lou Lamoriello said Sorokin had suffered an upper-body injury over the summer but “there’s nothing we are concerned about.” Three days later during the team’s annual golf outing in Old Westbury, however, Roy announced Sorokin had offseason back surgery.

The exact nature of the injury and the procedure is unknown.

For the Islanders, who conclude the preseason Friday night at UBS Arena against the Rangers and will begin the regular season at home against the Utah Hockey Club on Oct. 10, the fact that the 29-year-old was on the ice and taking shots is a positive.

“He’s looking strong,” Anders Lee said. “He’s getting back to where he needs to be and I know he’s put a ton of work in to get into that spot. We’re looking forward to having him join us.”

Still, Lee cautioned against Sorokin rushing back.

“I think the biggest thing for Ilya is for him to take his time and make sure he does everything right so there’s nothing in the way of moving forward,” Lee said “I think he’s done a great job of that.”

To that end, the presence of Varlamov on the roster is a luxury for the Islanders.

“Arguably you can say [they are] the best tandem in the league,” Noah Dobson said. “Varly has been doing it for a long time, a top goalie for a while now and obviously everyone knows Ilya is capable, as well. So to have those two back there makes the team a whole lot better, for sure.”