New York Islanders netminder Ilya Sorokin became the sixth goaltender in franchise history to win 100 career games with the team in tonight’s (Nov. 23) matchup against the St. Louis Blues. The 28-year-old improves to a 100-70-33 record across five NHL seasons, all on Long Island.
The Islanders selected Sorokin in the third round (No. 78) of the 2014 NHL Draft. He signed a one-year contract on July 13, 2020, with the Islanders after a dominant career in the Kontinental Hockey League where he was selected to the All-Star Game in five consecutive seasons (2015-16 to 2019-20). He went 13-6-3 with a 2.17 GAA, .918 SV%, and three shutouts in 22 games his rookie season, primarily sitting behind Varlamov.
Sorokin collected his first career win on Feb. 16, 2021, against the Buffalo Sabres when he posted a shutout in a 3-0 Islanders win. He is in year one of an eight-year, $66 million contract signed on July 1, 2023. After undergoing back surgery this past offseason and missing the entire preseason, he stopped 32 of 34 shots in his season debut on Oct. 14 against the Colorado Avalanche and has been one of the league’s best goaltenders since.
With game number 200 now underway, Sorokin joins Billy Smith, Rick DiPietro, Glenn Resch, Thomas Greiss, and Kelly Hrudey as the only goaltenders to reach this milestone with the Islanders. Current Islander Semyon Varlamov stands at 74 wins and has over two years remaining on his contract.
