Ilya Sorokin

There's an argument that could be made for Sorokin to be considered the best goalie in the league at this point of his career. He played a career-high 62 games last year, posting a 2.34 GAA, a .924 save percentage and a 31-22-7 record while dragging a lackluster Islanders team into the playoffs. He's been the Islanders' unquestioned starter the last two years, and it's safe to assume that's a role he'll continue for the rest of the decade after he signed an eight-year extension with an $8.25 million cap hit this summer. The team's steady defensive structure helps him, and Sorokin can stop a lot of what gets through -- he should again be a top-three fantasy goalie and a Vezina candidate by the end of 2023-24.

The Islanders were one of the most disappointing teams in the league a season ago, yet that didn't impact the performance of Sorokin in the least. He finished with a 2.40 GAA and .925 save percentage in 52 games, while his 29.8 goals saved above average were second to Igor Shesterkin of the Rangers, who won the Vezina Trophy as the league's top goaltender. The Islanders would be in far better shape if they just let Sorokin run away with the No. 1 job, but former coach Barry Trotz always preferred a tandem, and although Trotz is now gone, his replacement, Lane Lambert, was his right-hand man for many years. Semyon Varlamov is signed for one more year and it's hard to see the Islanders completely relegating him to backup duty, so the most likely scenario is that Sorokin doesn't provide the fantasy value he should in 2022-23.

Sorokin was blitzed for five goals by the Rangers in his NHL debut before allowing four or more goals just three times the rest of the season. His final numbers (13-6-3, 3 shutouts, 2.17 GAA, .918 save percentage) were exceptional behind a defensive-minded Islanders team. Sorokin was widely regarded as the best goaltender in the KHL prior to his arrival stateside and he worked extremely well in tandem with fellow Russian Semyon Varlamov. Varlamov has two years left on his contract and Isles coach Barry Trotz has always been a coach that uses both his goalies a ton, so Sorokin is looking at another timeshare. He has additional fantasy value in leagues that allow daily lineup changes as opposed to weekly.

Sorokin has emerged as one of the NHL's most highly-anticipated prospects, regardless of position, over the past few years as he's absolutely dominated the KHL with CSKA Moscow. In 40 games with Moscow last season, the 2014 third-round pick registered a 26-10-3 record while posting an eye-popping 1.50 GAA and .935 save percentage. The 25-year-old Russian will finally be making his long-awaited voyage to North America in 2020-21, but he'll have to settle for a backup role behind Semyon Varlamov, at least to start the season. Coach Barry Trotz's defensively-sound system should make Sorokin's transition to the NHL a smooth one, and if he outperforms Varly early, Trotz likely won't hesitate to hand him the reins. Varlamov is still the far safer pick, but Sorokin's upside will be hard to pass up in the middle rounds of this year's fantasy drafts.