The New York Islanders’ white whale — Ilya Sorokin — is headed to North America from Russia to join the NHL franchise, his agent, Daniel Milstein, announced Tuesday morning.
Ilya Sorokin and Alexander Romanov NHL bound! #WeAreGoldStar! pic.twitter.com/AXJtO6CLlR
— Dan Milstein (@HockeyAgent1) July 21, 2020
Six years after being drafted by the Islanders, the goaltending prospect signed an entry-level deal with the team last week before agreeing to a one-year, $2 million contract extension the following day. With immigration paperwork seemingly cleared, the 24-year-old now has the green light to join his NHL team in New York.
It remains to be seen if he will have to quarantine upon his arrival to North America given the current climate of the coronavirus pandemic. The Islanders declined to comment upon amNewYork Metro’s inquiry for comment while Milstein could not comment on whether Sorokin was heading to New York or Toronto — the bubble site in which the Islanders will resume play in on Aug. 1 against the Florida Panthers.
Due to the NHL’s tweaked rules amid the COVID-19 outbreak, Sorokin is ineligible to play with the Islanders this season once the postseason qualifiers begin. However, he is slated to be the team’s No. 1 goaltender for the 2020-21 campaign.
During the six years between Sorokin’s selection at the 2014 NHL Draft and his impending arrival to New York, the netminder continued to develop into one of the top prospects in the world at his position.
He starred for CSKA Moscow in the KHL — Russia’s top-flight hockey league — recently winning the KHL Gagarin Championship in 2018-19. He went 16-4 in the playoffs while posting a 1.19 goals-against average with a .947 save percentage and five shutouts. He was also named the 2019 KHL Playoff MVP, going 28-6-4 during the regular season with a 1.16 GAA, and a .940 SV%, and 11 shutouts.
