Goalie Marcus Hogberg might get Islanders roster spot with Ilya Sorokin out after back surgery
Marcus Hogberg of the Islanders guards the net during the third day of training camp at the Northwell Health Ice Center on East Meadow on Sept. 21. Credit: Rick Kopstein
PHILADELPHIA — No, Patrick Roy said, he does not know whether franchise goalie Ilya Sorokin will be able to play in the preseason as he recovers from offseason back surgery.
Perhaps the Islanders coach just did not want to address the subject with a definitive timeline. Still, the reality is plans must be made to select a backup to Semyon Varlamov in case Sorokin is unavailable to start the regular season on Oct. 10.
Ex-Senator Marcus Hogberg, who spent the last three season playing in his native Sweden, started for the second time in three preseason games as the Islanders faced the Flyers at Wells Fargo Center on Thursday night. Three preseason games remain for the Islanders — all at UBS Arena — starting with Friday night’s match against the Devils.
Hogberg, 29, stopped 15 of 17 shots in 29:22 in Sunday night’s 4-2 road win over the Devils in the Islanders’ preseason opener. He signed a two-year, $1.55 million deal with the Islanders in May to return to the smaller North American rinks after going 9-17-9 with a 3.39 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage in parts of three seasons with the Senators.
“It’s a good step compared to Sweden,” Hogberg said. “The play over here is much faster and you have to be quicker and be ready. I like games that are smaller and [have] more shots.”
Hogberg likely has the advantage over former Devil and Ranger Keith Kinkaid, in training camp on a professional tryout offer, 6-9 prospect Henrik Tikkanen and Thursday’s backup, Jakub Skarek, to start the season with the Islanders if Sorokin is not ready.
“These guys, they’re great pros and they know exactly where they’re going so, what we want, is to make sure that they’re both ready when the season starts,” Roy said of Varlamov and Sorokin. “Obviously there’s a bit of a bump in the road for Ilya. Whenever he’s going to be ready, he’ll be ready.”
Roy said he’s liked what he’s seen from the 6-5, 234-pound Hogberg so far.
“He was very good against Jersey in that half of the game,” Roy said. “The way that he handles the rebounds, the size that he has, it feels like it’s a challenge for the shooters.”
Part of the preseason is for Hogberg to get comfortable with his new teammates.
And vice versa.
“From that perspective, going back for pucks, getting comfortable making calls to him,” defenseman Ryan Pulock said. “The way he plays the puck. What he’s comfortable with. That’s the biggest thing for me when there’s a new goalie in there.”
Notes & quotes: Defenseman Scott Mayfield dressed for his third straight preseason game, but Thursday marked his first time paired with expected regular-season partner Mike Reilly. “It was important,” Roy said. “We really want to see them starting to play some games together." . . . . Pulock said he and defense partner Adam Pelech have talked about regaining their “swagger” as a shutdown pair after both missed significant time last season because of injuries.
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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