Semyon Varlamov is the only certainty in the Islanders' goaltending picture
Islanders goalie Semyon Varlamov watches play during the third day of training camp at the Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow on Saturday. Credit: Rick Kopstein
Semyon Varlamov is the only thing certain about the Islanders goaltending as they open their six-game preseason schedule.
Most notably, Ilya Sorokin is recovering from offseason back surgery and has yet to skate with the Islanders during training camp. Among the other netminders in camp, Marcus Hogberg hasn’t played in the NHL since 2021, Farmingville’s Keith Kinkaid, on a professional tryout offer, has played three NHL games since 2021, Henrik Tikkanen and Jakub Skarek are still untested prospects, as is Tristan Lennox, who is hurt.
“Nothing changes for me,” Varlamov said Saturday at Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow after participating in the morning scrimmage on Day 3 of camp. “I’m just focusing on my own stuff, trying to get ready for this season. Playing a few games before the season will be important for me to get back into game shape.”
The Islanders face the Devils on Sunday night in Newark, New Jersey and it’s likely Varlamov and either Hogberg or Kinkaid will dress for the match. It’s the first of four games through Friday so coach Patrick Roy will get a chance to see a few of his goalies in game action.
Varlamov said he usually prefers playing two or three preseason games.
“I’m sure [goalie coach] Piero Greco will sit with Varly and see what kind of work he wants to have and we’ll base our decision on that,” Roy said. “We want to see Hogberg and how he’s going to do. And Tikkanen and all the boys out there, basically.”
Hogberg was signed to a two-year, $1.55 million deal after spending the last three seasons playing at home in Sweden. It was expected he’d split time in net for the Islanders’ AHL affiliate in Bridgeport but the uncertainty with Sorokin’s health — Roy reported he is skating on his own but with no timetable on when he might be available — has made it possible the Islanders will start the regular season against Utah on Oct. 10 at UBS Arena needing one of the other candidates to back up Varlamov.
Sorokin, in the first season of an eight-year, $66 million extension, went a disappointing 25-19-12 with a 2.99 goals-against average and .909 save percentage last season after being the Vezina Trophy runner-up in 2023. Varlamov was 14-8-4 with a 2.60 GAA and .918 save percentage and started four of the five playoff games after Roy relied on him during an 8-0-1 finish to the regular season.
Kinkaid, 35, has a 70-58-21 record with a 2.91 GAA and .905 save percentage for five teams since Islanders president/general manager Lou Lamoriello, then the Devils’ boss, signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Union College.
Hogberg, 29, went 9-17-9 with a 3.39 GAA and .894 save percentage for the Senators from 2018-21.
“I feel like I’m a more calm goalie and not too spread out,” Hogberg said. “I just try to follow the puck and not to be aggressive. That’s what I felt the last couple of years. That’s what I’ve been working on. The pace is much higher [compared to Europe] and I don’t have so much time. I have to be ready quicker. But I like the smaller ice surface.”
Notes & quotes: Forward Jesse Nurmi, a fourth-round pick in 2023, practiced after missing rookie camp and the first two days of training camp with an undisclosed injury . . . Roy was asked how he and Lamoriello would decide which players would dress for the preseason opener. “The guys who play in Bridgeport or the system, I haven’t seen them a lot,” Roy said. “And Lou has guys he wants to see as well.”
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.
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