Ilya Sorokin

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.