Ilya Sorokin is entering the second season of his eight-year contract with the New York Islanders. He signed the $66 million deal in July 2023. Last offseason, he recovered from back surgery after an offseason training injury, but still played that season. This summer, he is back on the ice preparing for the 2025-26 season. Islanders fan page Isles Den on X/Twitter shared a video of his training with a caption that read: "Ilya Sorokin putting in some offseason work! Remember he wasn’t healthy last offseason so this is great to see. Hopefully, Semyon Varlamov is progressing as well. #Isles will need excellent goaltending from their tandem next season."The video shows Sorokin doing several on-ice drills. In one frame, he is at the top of the crease facing a skater. Another angle shows the puck coming toward him from a shooter’s view. Other clips feature him crouching, blocking shots in a butterfly position and facing close-range drills. Sorokin was facing repeated shots as he took the reaction practice. Sorokin played 61 games in the 2024-25 season with a 30-24-6 record. He had a 2.71 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage while also recording four shutouts. These numbers were an improvement from his 3.01 GAA in 2023-24. The Islanders finished sixth in the Metropolitan Division with a 35-35-12 record and missed the playoffs. Sorokin stayed consistent despite the Isles' defensive struggles. His workload and shot-stopping ability kept the Islanders in many games. Now, his offseason practice shows he is aiming to be fully ready for the new season. The Isles have good goaltending depth with Marcus Hogberg, Tristan Lennox, David Rittich and Semyon Varlamov. It will be interesting to see who serves as the team's backup goalie. Alex Ovechkin got Ilya Sorokin's stick after scoring 895th goal Ilya Sorokin was the goalie against Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin when he scored his 895th goal on April 6. That goal helped "Ovi" break Wayne Gretzky’s 894 goal record. After the game, Ovechkin asked for Sorokin’s stick, which he planned to add to his growing stick collection that he hopes to one day turn into a museum. "I [told] him [Sorokin] right away, 'I need that stick,'" Ovechkin said via NHL.com. Sorokin agreed and said he would send his glove later, and Ovechkin gave Sorokin some autographed pucks in return. Sorokin later said he knew exactly how special the moment was. "I think it's a big moment for all hockey world," Sorokin said. "Congrats to him and his family. He's a big player, and it's unbelievable achievement."For Ovechkin, it was special to score against a fellow Russian. However, Ilya Sorokin helped the Islanders secure a 4-1 win in the end.