EAST MEADOW, NY — New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin was on the ice before his team’s practice Wednesday morning.
The 29-year-old, who had offseason back surgery, was taking shots but stayed on a separate rink away from team practice at its official start at 9:30 a.m. ET.
This is the first time this offseason that Sorokin has been seen in any capacity on the ice and in gear.
“All I can say are things are going well,” head coach Patrick Roy said. “It’s day-by-day and we’ll go from there.”
During Islanders rookie camp, team president and general manager Lou Lamoriello said that Sorokin would miss the first few days of training camp due to an injury he picked up during offseason training. Just a few days later, Patrick Roy disclosed that the injury required back surgery.
“I mean, we’ve seen him quite a bit around the rink,” veteran forward Brock Nelson said. “But it’s great to know that he’s close, or getting closer. The closer he is to getting back to the ice, the more excited we’ll be. But I think he looks good.”
Sorokin had missed the first two weeks of training camp, but practicing separately from the team does not suggest that he is not on the immediate cusp of returning to game action.
That obviously puts his availability for the start of the regular season in question. New York’s 2024-25 campaign begins on Oct. 10 at UBS Arena against Utah Hockey Club.
For more on Ilya Sorokin and the Islanders, visit AMNY.com
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