After missing a majority of the season due to injury, Semyon Varlamov is expecting to be ready for New York Islanders Training Camp, the netminder said on Clean Out Day on Saturday.
“I expect to be ready for next season,” Varlamov said. “Everything is going well with rehab and physiotherapy. “The main focus for me to finish the rehab, hopefully soon, and have a good summer of training, and then ready for September for training camp. That's the goal.”
It’s been a long road for Varlamov, who was limited to 10 games this season and last played on Nov. 29 in Washington. He revealed that underwent a procedure on his knee in December.
“Since [the procedure] I've been doing rehab to get back on the ice,” Varlamov said. “But unfortunately, it's just taking longer this time, that’s just how it goes. Sometimes it takes a month to recover and sometimes it takes much longer, which is my case.”
Varlamov is still in the rehab process with a few weeks to go, with the expectation to start skating in June. The Russian netminder said that it wasn’t easy to deal with a long-term injury after he put in quality work and training last offseason, but he’s dealt with and overcame injuries before in his NHL career spanning 17 seasons.
“It's not easy to go through the injuries in rehab, especially when you're had a good summer training,” Varlamov said. “I feel like I did a good job last summer getting ready for the season. So it was frustrating, because I was trying to come back after the procedure, and I couldn't do it. It’s not the first time I’m dealing with a situation like this, I had a long career. But we have a really good plan moving forward.”
When Varlamov was out, Ilya Sorokin picked up the majority of the workload and went 25-18-3 with a .906 SV%. He started in 60 games this season, which ties a career-high (2022-23).
“Ilya played a lot of games,” Varlamov said. “I thought he did a good job taking care of himself after he had the procedure on his back. He looked great, he looked sharp, and he played well this year.”
With the 2024-25 season in the books, Varlamov is looking ahead to getting fully healthy and ready for Islanders training camp in September.
“I want to make sure I'm ready 100% for the next season,” Varlamov said. “I want to show up for the training camp by feeling good without any issues. That's the main goal.”
