Why the Rangers care about an Islander goalie

New York Rangers fans need to get used to hearing the name Ilya Sorokin, Islanders goalie prospect

While the New York Rangers are sure that they have the best young goaltender in the NHL in Igor Shesterkin, the New York Islanders feel the same about Ilya Sorokin.  It could rekindle a long, bitter rivalry and could revive memories of Billy Smith and Chico Resch.

Sorokin has been making headlines this spring with the speculation that he will be joining the Islanders at long last, after being drafted in the third round of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.   Finally freed from his KHL contract, reports in the spring were that he was about the join the Islanders.  This week, it was reported that he had changed his representation.

HockeyAgent1 is Dan Milstein of Gold Star Hockey.  Due to the large number of Russian players leaving the KHL, Milstein was recently barred from representing KHL players (in Russia only).  Speculation is that this is a sure sign that Sorokin is coming to North America, though there have also been reports that he has re-opened talks with CSKA  Moscow.

Both players were selected in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.  Sorokin was selected in the third round, #78 overall.  Shesterkin was picked by the Rangers in the fourth round, #118 overall. The similarities between Sorokin and Shesterkin are uncanny and they have been rivals for years.

The rivalry

Shesterkin and Sorokin are both 24 years old, though Sorokin is almost five months older, born on August 4, 1995 with Shesterkin born on December 30.  Sorokin is an inch taller than the 6’1″ Shesterkin and the Ranger weighs 183 pounds to Sorokin’s 176 pounds.

Both goalies played in the same development leagues in Russia, the VHL and MHL in the same years, making their debuts in the 2012-13 season.  Shesterkin had the better year and was selected to play for the Russian U18 team. Though Russia lost the bronze medal game, Shesterkin starred with a 2.26 Goals Against Average (GAA) and  .937 save percentage (SV%).

Both goalies were selected for Team Russia at the 2015 U20 WJC.  Shesterkin outplayed his rival, going 3-1-0 with a 1.98 GAA and .938 SV%.  Sorokin had a 0-2-0 record with a 2.66 GAA and .886 SV%.

To add to the intrigue, Shesterkin was yanked from the gold medal game with Canada after allowing two goals on the first three shots.  He was replaced by Sorokin who allowed three more Canadian goals on 18 shots as Canada won the championship game 5-4.

Sorokin made it to the KHL for good in the 2015-16 season.  He played 28 games for CSKA Moscow, going 17-7-4 with a 1.06 GAA and a .953 SV%.  Sorokin was hailed as the best goalie in the league and twice was selected best goalie of the month.

Shesterkin followed him to the KHL  with SKA St. Petersburg the following season and the two goalies were KHL rivals for three straight seasons.  One thing about the KHL is that they rely on a two-goalie system so it’s rare for a goalie to play more than 40 games in their 62 game season.

Here’s how they compared in the three regular seasons:
2016-17 Season (56 games)
                           G        W-L       GAA      SV%   SHO
Shesterkin      39    27-4-6    1.64     .937      8
Sorokin            39    25-7-6    1.61     .929      5
2017-18 Season (56 games)
                            G       W-L       GAA     SV%   SHO
Shesterkin       28   18-4-4   1.70   .933      7
Sorokin             37   25-8-4  1.59   .931       8
2018-19  Season (62 games)
                            G      W-L        GAA     SV%   SHO
Shesterkin       28   24-4-0   1.11    .953    10
Sorokin             40   28-6-4    1.16   .940     11