New York Islanders goaltending prospect Ilya Sorokin is already a professional. He’s played at a high level of competition for a large part of his career. Starring in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), he’s been steadily rising as an elite Russian goaltender.
Sorokin debuted in the KHL with Metallurg Novokuznetsk as a fresh-faced 18 year old. He played in only five games with fairly average numbers (2.77 GAA, .919 SVS%). The two seasons that followed saw him play in more games with Metallurg Novokuznetsk with a similar outcome.
It wasn’t until Sorokin was acquired by CSKA during the 2014-15 season that those average numbers would begin to change.