EAST MEADOW, NY -- Ilya Sorokin will do "everything to be ready" to play for the New York Islanders when they begin the regular season against the Utah Hockey Club at UBS Arena on Oct. 10.
The 29-year-old goalie practiced Thursday, one day after taking warmups, for the first time since having back surgery after he was injured during offseason workouts, which forced him to miss more than a week of training camp. Sorokin said he felt really good and is leaving it up to Islanders coach Patrick Roy to determine a timeline.
"Great job by [the training] staff last two months, so I feel good, mental and physical," Sorokin said. "I'm going to do everything to be ready for opening night, but it's Roy's business. My business is to do all things with my body and my head."
The Islanders will take their time with Sorokin, who's entering the first season of an eight-year contract he signed with New York on July 1, 2023.
"We are just going to go day by day with him," Roy said. "We don't know what tomorrow will bring, so I'd rather keep it day by day and see how he is. We're going to give him his time, no doubt about it.
"He looked really good and he seemed to feel pretty comfortable. I am very happy to see him on the ice."
Sorokin was not limited Thursday, staying on the ice for the entire time.
"He was great today," Islanders defenseman Alexander Romanov said. "We just did breakaways. He stopped, probably, everything there, so he's in shape. He worked out so hard all summer. He was training twice a day. He's done everything to be with us already."
Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello originally predicted that Sorokin would miss only the first few days of training camp, if that, and that the upper-body injury wouldn't affect his status for the regular season. If Sorokin is not ready for opening night, Semyon Varlamov likely will start against Utah with Marcus Hogberg as the backup.
Hogberg signed a two-year contract May 7.
Sorokin is coming off his worst statistical season, going 25-19-12 with a 3.01 goals-against average, .908 save percentage and two shutouts in 56 games and losing the No. 1 job to Varlamov down the stretch. He started Game 3 of the Eastern Conference First Round and was pulled from a 3-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes after allowing three goals on 14 shots.
New York lost the best-of-7 series in five games.
"I had a great summer, not frustrating," Sorokin said. "It was my first surgery and it's a relief. I [found] a new muscle in my body. And summer was big a job with the coaching staff, physical therapist. It was very hard.
"We do a lot of cardio, so I feel good, I feel fresh, and I feel excited."
Sorokin also did more video work than on-ice work because of the injury and recovery, looking to shore up his game and return to the form that made him a 2023 finalist for the Vezina Trophy as best goalie in the NHL. He was 31-22-7 with a 2.34 GAA, .924 save percentage and a League-leading six shutouts in 62 games (60 starts).
"Everybody wants to be better," Sorokin said. "If we do not want to be better, we can't be professional players, so past season is in the past, and I just try to focus on small details of our game. And if you do right small details, it's going to become part of your game."
