Isles veteran goalie Cory Schneider is satisfied with the role he plays

Goalie Cory Schneider skated off the ice first after Wednesday’s practice, a hockey tradition typically indicating the next game’s starter. But the Islanders, under president and general manager Lou Lamoriello, are loathe to disclose any lineup news before the puck actually drops.

So it wasn’t surprising when Ilya Sorokin started Thursday night’s game against the injury-plagued and struggling Blue Jackets at UBS Arena. Schneider, who has played just one NHL game since joining the organization in 2020, was the backup for the fifth straight game with Semyon Varlamov (lower body) on injured reserve.

Schneider was once a No. 1 goalie with both the Canucks and Devils and a former All-Star but now, at 36 and after a run of hip and groin injuries that derailed his NHL career, he’s just taking it season-by-season, not obsessed with whether he ever regains a full-time role outside of the AHL.

“Maybe if I was 10 years younger it would be different with the way I’m playing down there,” Schneider said. “But I understand the situation and what my role is. If other teams or people think that I can still play, that’s up to them. But for me right now it’s more of how I’m feeling.”

Thursday might have marked Schneider’s last time in an Islanders’ jersey for now. Coach Lane Lambert said before the game Varlamov would accompany the team on its upcoming trip to Seattle, Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary.

He did not specify whether Schneider would also travel.

Schneider is 10-3-2 with a 2.51 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage for Bridgeport.

Lamoriello, who made a draft day trade to acquire Schneider for the Devils in 2013, brought him into the Islanders’ organization after the Devils bought out the final two seasons of his seven-year, $42 million deal.

He was on the Islanders’ taxi squad in the playoff bubbles in Toronto and Edmonton in 2020 and on constant call as COVID-19 impacted the roster the following season. But his only game was a memorable one as he went back to Prudential Center and made 27 saves in a 4-3 win over the Devils on April 3.

Schneider agreed to another one-year, two-way deal worth $750,000 in the NHL and $400,000 in the AHL just as the Islanders began training camp.

“I wasn’t sure I’d come back and play this year,” Schneider said. “But the way I felt at the end of last season, going into the playoffs, playing that game in Jersey, I felt as good in training camp and to start this year as I have in a few years.

“I can’t really control what happens beyond that. It’s just been nice, kind of not having played hockey for a couple of years with injuries and COVID and taxi squad. I still felt like I could play and I just didn’t want to go out like that. I’ve been enjoying every moment of it, no matter if it’s here or there. It’s just nice to play good hockey again and play like I feel like I’m capable of. That’s the most important part and if somebody sees that as being capable enough to play in this league, that’s great. But, for now, I’m not thinking too much about that.”

Schneider said both health and confidence are factors in his personal revival.

“Just believing in yourself and having people believe in you, it can go a long way,” Schneider said. “It just takes time, sometimes. Especially as you get older, you can’t snap it back into existence as quickly. It’s been a bit of a process. I feel more prepared now to be up here.”

By Andrew Gross

andrew.gross@newsday.comAGrossNewsday

Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.