Ilya Sorokin

Ilya Igorevich Sorokin (; born 4 August 1995) is a Russian professional ice hockey player who is a goaltender for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). Sorokin was selected by the Islanders in the third round (78th overall) of the 2014 NHL entry draft.

Playing career

KHL (2012–2020) Sorokin played as a youth with local club Vympel Mezhdurechensk, before joining KHL club Metallurg Novokuznetsk as a 17-year old in 2012. He made his professional and KHL debut with Novokuznetsk during the following 2012–13 season, appearing in relief during a 8–6 defeat to Barys Astana on 7 January 2013. Following two promising seasons, Sorokin was selected by the New York Islanders, 78th overall, in the 2014 NHL entry draft.

During his third year within Metallurg Novokuznetsk in the 2014–15 season, Sorokin appeared in 22 games before he was traded to perennial powerhouse club, CSKA Moscow, in exchange for financial compensation on 24 December 2014.

Sorokin continued his KHL career with CSKA Moscow by signing a three-year contract extension on 10 June 2017. In 2019, Sorokin won the Gagarin Cup with CSKA Moscow, also being named most valuable player of the 2019 Gagarin Cup playoffs.

New York Islanders (2020–present) On 13 July 2020, Sorokin was signed to a one-year, entry-level contract with draft club, the New York Islanders, for the remainder of the 2019–20 season. However, unsigned prospects from other leagues, such as Sorokin in the KHL, were ruled ineligible to feature in the Return to Play phase following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The contract completed Sorokin's entry-level status to become a restricted free agent, and Sorokin was signed by the Islanders to a one-year, $2 million contract extension for the 2020–21 season the day after his entry-level contract was essentially nullified.

Sorokin made his NHL and Islanders debut on 16 January 2021, against the New York Rangers. Sorokin was originally slated to be the backup for the game when the intended starter, Semyon Varlamov, was injured during warmups. The Islanders lost the game 5–0, while Sorokin allowed five goals on 31 shots. Sorokin's first NHL win, and first NHL shutout, came on 16 February, in the Islanders' 3–0 win over the Buffalo Sabres. He made 20 saves in the win. Sorokin made his Stanley Cup playoffs debut against the Pittsburgh Penguins in game 1, winning 4–3 in overtime. while Varlamov recovered from injury. Varlamov took the starting role back in games 2 and 3 but struggled while playing through his injuries, losing both games. Sorokin took back the starting job in game 4 and won games 4–6, helping the Islanders win the series. Sorokin lost game 1 against the Boston Bruins in the second round, and Varlamov became the starting goaltender for the remainder of the playoffs.

On 1 September 2021, Sorokin was re-signed to a three-year, $12 million contract by the Islanders.

Sorokin's first NHL point came on 9 March 2023, when he received an assist after poke-checking a puck which led to a breakaway for Brock Nelson and the game winning goal in overtime against the Penguins. In the course of the 2022–23 season, Sorokin recorded a 31–22–7 with a .924 save percentage and a league-leading six shutouts. In recognition of his achievements, he was named a finalist for the Vezina Trophy, awarded to the league's best goaltender. Sorokin was widely credited as the main reason the Islanders qualified for the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs. They were ultimately ousted by the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round.

On 1 July 2023, Sorokin signed an eight-year, $66 million contract extension with the Islanders.

On 1 March 2025, Sorokin became the 17th goaltender in NHL history to be credited with a goal when after making a save, Nashville Predators forward Steven Stamkos accidentally sent the puck into his own net. As Sorokin had been the last Islanders player to touch the puck, he was credited with the goal. On 6 April, in a game against the Washington Capitals, Sorokin allowed Alexander Ovechkin's 895th career NHL goal, which broke Wayne Gretzky's record of 894, making Ovechkin the all-time leading goal-scorer in NHL history. Sorokin also became the 183rd goaltender to give up a goal from Ovechkin.

On 6 December 2025, Sorokin recorded his 25th career shutout which tied Chico Resch for the most shutouts in Islanders history, in a 2–0 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. On 6 January 2026, Sorokin recorded his 26th career shutout, surpassing Resch on the Islanders' all-time shutouts list, in a 9–0 win over the New Jersey Devils.

International play

Sorokin was a member of the Olympic Athletes from Russia team at the 2018 Winter Olympics that won the gold medal.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP W L OT MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV% 2012–13 Kuznetskie Medvedi MHL 27 11 8 3 1,423 61 1 2.57 .914 3 0 2 159 9 0 3.40 .898 2012–13 Metallurg Novokuznetsk KHL 5 1 1 0 151 7 0 2.77 .919 — — — — — — — — 2013–14 Kuznetskie Medvedi MHL 4 2 1 1 245 11 0 2.69 .917 2 0 2 104 7 0 4.04 .800 2013–14 Metallurg Novokuznetsk KHL 27 5 12 0 1,346 65 0 2.90 .911 — — — — — — — — 2014–15 Metallurg Novokuznetsk KHL 22 4 11 1 978 53 1 3.25 .906 — — — — — — — — 2014–15 Kuznetskie Medvedi MHL 1 0 1 0 60 4 0 4.00 .871 — — — — — — — — 2014–15 Krasnaya Armiya MHL 3 1 1 1 184 4 1 1.31 .949 7 2 5 363 13 1 2.15 .928 2014–15 CSKA Moscow KHL 6 3 2 0 275 6 0 1.31 .937 — — — — — — — — 2015–16 Zvezda Chekhov VHL 1 0 1 0 60 2 0 2.01 .917 — — — — — — — — 2015–16 CSKA Moscow KHL 28 17 7 4 1,639 29 10 1.06 .953 20 15 5 1,270 28 3 1.32 .945 2016–17 CSKA Moscow KHL 39 25 7 6 2,276 61 5 1.61 .929 7 5 2 443 15 1 2.03 .916 2017–18 CSKA Moscow KHL 37 25 8 4 2,183 58 8 1.59 .931 18 10 6 1,062 27 5 1.52 .930 2018–19 CSKA Moscow KHL 40 28 6 4 2,328 45 11 1.16 .940 20 16 4 1,213 24 5 1.19 .947 2019–20 CSKA Moscow KHL 40 26 10 3 2,365 59 9 1.50 .935 4 4 0 246 3 2 0.73 .966 2020–21 New York Islanders NHL 22 13 6 3 1,272 46 3 2.17 .918 7 4 1 387 18 0 2.79 .922 2021–22 New York Islanders NHL 52 26 18 8 3,073 123 7 2.40 .925 — — — — — — — — 2022–23 New York Islanders NHL 62 31 22 7 3,588 140 6 2.34 .924 6 2 4 370 16 0 2.60 .929 2023–24 New York Islanders NHL 56 25 19 12 3,326 167 2 3.01 .909 1 0 1 27 3 0 6.61 .786 2024–25 New York Islanders NHL 61 30 24 6 3,499 157 4 2.69 .907 — — — — — — — — 2025–26 New York Islanders NHL 55 29 24 2 3,226 144 7 2.68 .906 — — — — — — — —KHL totals 244 134 64 22 13,541 383 44 1.70 .930 69 50 17 4,236 97 16 1.37 .940NHL totals 308 154 113 38 17,982 777 29 2.60 .915 14 6 6 784 37 0 2.83 .921

International Year Team Event Result GP W L OT MIN GA SO GAA SV% 2015 Russia WJC 3 1 1 0 180 8 0 2.66 .886 2016 Russia WC 3 1 0 0 76 0 1 0.00 1.000 2017 Russia WC 2 1 0 0 80 0 1 0.00 1.000 2018 OAR OG 1 0 0 0 20 1 0 3.00 .857 2018 Russia WC 6th — — — — — — — — — 2019 Russia WC — — — — — — — — —Junior totals 3 1 1 0 180 8 0 2.66 .886Senior totals 6 2 0 0 176 1 2 0.34 .985

Awards and honors Award Year RefKHL All-Star Game 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 Goaltender of the Year 2016 First All-Star Team 2016 Gagarin Cup champion 2019 Playoffs MVP 2019 NHL NHL All-Star Game 2023 NHL Second All-Star Team 2023