Ilya Sorokin: a soaring flight

KHL.ru continues telling the stories of those who became league legends. Today, the talk is about Ilya Sorokin. The talented goalie made his path all the way from the JHL to the Olympics gold medal.

Taking off

Many experts consider Ilya Sorokin’s career exemplary. Instead of rushing into the unknown in his youth and going to the lower leagues in North America, he went through all stages of hockey development in Russia. He won the Gagarin Cup, Olympic Games, fully matured as both a player and an individual. As a confident master, he eventually decided to play in the NHL. He didn’t go there to fight for a spot in the lineup with high chances of being sent to the AHL; he went there to secure a specific place in the main lineup.

Sorokin initially started playing hockey as a skater. However, at the age of seven, he asked to become a goaltender. Coaches tried to dissuade him, as he was doing well in his previous role. However, he insisted on his decision.

Sorokin’s professional career began in the JHL (Junior Hockey League). Year after year, more KHL players are coming from the JHL’s school. In the past season, 90% of them came from there, and Sorokin is one of the brightest examples of the effectiveness of this elevator.

Partly, Sorokin was fortunate to be nurtured in Metallurg Novokuznetsk, a KHL outsider back then. In such teams, young players are trusted more than in contenders aiming for top results. Earlier, players like Sergei Bobrovsky, Dmitry Orlov, Kirill Kaprizov, Anton Slepyshev, and others began their professional careers in Novokuznetsk. In early 2013, Sorokin also got a chance to prove himself.

In the following season, Ilya, along with Nikita Lozhkin, caused the leadership of Metallurg to part ways with Niko Hovinen, who then joined Admiral in November. As a result, Sorokin and Lozhkin shared the role, each playing 27 games. From the fall of 2014, Ilya’s career rapidly picked up momentum. He picked up a shutout in the new season’s debut game In October, he was invited to the national team for the Karjala Cup. Russia lost to Sweden and Finland with other goalkeepers, but with debutant Sorokin, the team achieved a win against Team Czechia, 4:2. In December, he made the Russian WJC squad for the tournament in Canada, and shortly after returning, he moved to CSKA.

21.12.2014 Traded from Metallurg Novokuznetsk to CSKA.
05.01.2015 Silver medal at the World Juniors.
13.02.2016 First appearance at the KHL All-Star Game.
24.05.2016 KHL Best goalie honors.
25.02.2018 Olympic Games gold medal.
19.04.2019 First Gagarin Cup triumph.
19.04.2019 Playoffs MVP honors.

His path to the cup

At that time, CSKA was in the process of building a team that would reach the finals of the Gagarin Cup six times in the next seven seasons. Sorokin became an essential component of their future successes. However, in 2015, he didn’t play in the playoffs as the team chose to rely on more experienced goalies like Stanislav Galimov and Kevin Lalande. Throughout the 2015-2016 season, Sorokin gradually established himself as CSKA’s number one goalie, surpassing Galimov and Viktor Fasth. He played the entire playoffs. The team made it to the finals for the first time since 1992 but lost in a close series to Metallurg only after the seventh game. In the following season, they were defeated by Lokomotiv in the second round. This led to the replacement of head coach Dmitry Kvartalnov with Igor Nikitin. However, even this move couldn’t immediately lead CSKA to a title.

In 2017, Ilya signed a new three-year contract with CSKA. 

“It was a difficult decision, not made in a snap. I thought a lot, consulted with my parents and coaches. I decided that spending another three years in the KHL, with CSKA, would be more beneficial,” Sorokin said in an interview. “I’ll be just 25 in three years. For a goalie, that’s not an age at all; in fact, you’re approaching your peak. I don’t think I’ve lost much.”

In 2019, CSKA won the main KHL trophy, and Sorokin achieved phenomenal numbers. In the regular season, he allowed an average of 1.16 goals per game, posting a 94% saves percentage. In the playoffs, those numbers were 1.19 and 94.7%, respectively. CSKA swept Avangard 4-0, although only the first game was won with a significant advantage. The fate of the other three games was decided in the last minutes of regulation or OT. Sorokin’s contribution to CSKA’s success was unvaluable.

In the following season, CSKA had the potential to repeat their success. Sorokin played just as reliably and maintained excellent statistics. However, due to the pandemic, the playoffs ended prematurely, and shortly after, Ilya made the decision to go overseas, having honored his three-year deal with the Muscovites.

Ilya Sorokin
313 games, 184 wins.
Third KHL goalie for shutouts (60).
Second KHL goalie for single-season shutouts (11 in the 2018-2019 season).
WJC silver medalist (2015).
KHL Best goalie award (2016).
Olympic champion (2018).
World Championship bronze medalist (2016, 2017, 2019).
Gagarin Cup champion (2019).
Playoffs MVP (2019).
KHL All-Star Game (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020).
07.01.2013 KHL debut with Metallurg Novokuznetsk against Barys.
15.02.2013 First KHL win when Metallurg Nk defeated Lokomotiv.

Playing with more experienced goalies

Sorokin’s career on the international stage began with the already mentioned 2015 World Juniors. At that time, Team Russia’s lineup could boast two promising and already skilled netminders — Sorokin and Igor Shestyorkin. They would later compete in the national team multiple times and now play in the NHL. Back then, in Canada, they took turns playing. Eventually, Shestyorkin started in the playoffs. In the group stage, Russia lost to Sweden and Czechia and wasn’t considered a favorite before the medal games. However, in the quarterfinals, the Russians defeated Team USA, and in the semifinals, they beat the Swedes. In the final, after Shestyorkin allowed two goals in just over two and a half minutes, he was replaced by Sorokin. The comeback attempt, initiated by Russia when the score was 1:5, wasn’t successful, with the contest ending with a 4:5 score.

Sorokin represented Russia in five major tournaments — the IIHF World Championships from 2016-2019 and the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang. The role of the first-choice goalie was held by more experienced netminders such as Sergei Bobrovsky, Andrei Vasilevsky, and Vasily Koshechkin, but Ilya also got his ice time. In Pyeongchang, he stepped onto the ice at the beginning of the third period in a game against Slovenia. In 2016, he stopped pucks for three games at the home World Championship, including playing a full game against Norway, naturally without allowing goals. In 2017, he came in as a substitute in the game against Italy and played the entire match against Latvia, securing another shutout victory with a 5:0 score. Sorokin is an Olympic champion and a three-time bronze medalist in the IIHF World Championship.

“The World Championship is a big tournament where the focus is usually on one goalie. The other two need to be ready to step in at any moment, support, and help. There’s nothing wrong with being the second or third choice. I should be happy that I made it here at all and have a chance to play,” Sorokin said.

Dossier

Ilya Igorevich Sorokin
Born: Aug 4, 1995, in Mezhdurechensk.
Career: 2012-14 — Metallurg Novokuznetsk, 2014-20 — CSKA, from 2020 — New York Islanders (NHL).
Honors: Olympic champion (2018), IIHF WC silver medalist (2016, 2017, 2019), WJC bronze medalist (2015), Gagarin Cup champion (2019), gold (2019) and silver (2016, 2018) medalist in the Russian championship.