After Semyon Varlamov underwent two partial knee replacements, Ilya Sorokin had the same question for him as everybody else.
asserted
Sorokin → undergo → everybody
“I asked him, ‘What do you think?
asserted
you → ask → What
It’s done?’ ” Sorokin recalled Thursday.
asserted
Sorokin → do → ?
“He said, ‘No, I will come back.’
asserted
I → say → ?
First thing he said.”
asserted
he → say → ?
Somehow, some way, Varlamov looks on track to resume playing hockey games this season.
asserted
Varlamov → look → games
He took the ice Thursday as the Islanders opened training camp, and if you didn’t know any better, you would have been unable to tell what he’d been through over the 22 months that have elapsed since he last took part in an NHL practice or game.
asserted
he → take → practice
Varlamov never had a timeline for his return.
asserted
Varlamov → have → return
As far as he knows, there’s no precedent for what he’s doing.
asserted
he → know → what
Research by The Post turned up one professional athlete to undergo a partial knee replacement and return to competing at an elite level: Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn.
asserted
Research → turn → Vonn
As for NHLers or professional athletes in team sports, we could find no comparable examples.
uncertain
we → find → examples
“The type of surgeries I’ve done, people [are] doing it, but not professional hockey players able to do it and try to come back,” Varlamov said.
asserted
Varlamov → do → it
I took a risk.”
asserted
I → take → risk
A risk that might give him his career back.
uncertain
that → give → career
“I wasn’t ready to retire,” Varlamov said.
asserted
Varlamov → retire → ?
Definitely, some days it was in my mind when things were not going well.
asserted
things → go → mind
Rehab, we had a lot of setbacks, pushbacks.
asserted
we → have → setbacks
I was thinking, maybe this is it, I won’t be able to come back.
asserted
I → think → ?
But you wake up the next morning and just tell yourself that you’re not ready to retire.
asserted
you → wake → yourself
I’m not there yet, I guess.
asserted
I → ’m → ?
“I still have a lot of respect and love for the game.
asserted
I → have → game
I want to be around this team.
asserted
I → want → team
This team is looking great with the younger guys now coming in, older guys.
asserted
guys → look → ?
I pushed myself.
asserted
I → push → myself
I had a lot of motivation also, because the team is looking good.
asserted
team → have → motivation
I want to be part of it longer.”
asserted
I → want → it
On a practical, hockey level, the implications for the Islanders are hard to fully unpack.
asserted
implications → unpack → Islanders
General manager Mathieu Darche acknowledged that keeping three goaltenders on the active roster is a possibility, with Vitek Vanecek under contract, as well as Sorokin and Varlamov.
asserted
keeping → acknowledge → contract
Coach Pete DeBoer said that with an 84-game schedule, the Islanders will want close to 30 games from their backup goaltender, and given the club’s history of overusing Sorokin, they ought to be wary about doing so again.
asserted
they → say → Sorokin
The nature of what Varlamov is trying to do makes it impossible to predict how this will go.
asserted
this → try → what
One thing is obvious from Thursday, though: The Islanders, as an organization, are in a little bit of awe over the fact that he has gotten this far.
asserted
he → get → fact
“It’s almost inspiring to our guys,” Darche said.
asserted
Darche → ’ → guys
“When I got here and I heard about the surgery he had undergone, I was not counting on seeing him at all,” DeBoer said.
asserted
DeBoer → get → him
“I wanna say he’s probably the first in history to do it,” JG Pageau told The Post.
asserted
Pageau → say → Post
“That’s pretty cool, and it’s all in his honor to be able to do that.”
asserted
it → ’ → that
Varlamov needs to get through camp and the preseason with no setbacks.
asserted
Varlamov → need → setbacks
If he does make it as far as a regular-season game, every period will be a test.
asserted
period → make → game
But he has come so far already.
asserted
he → come → ?
It took until the beginning of March for him to truly feel he would have a chance to play.
asserted
he → take → chance
He upped his skating from three times a week to four or five, successfully pushing to get into a couple of AHL games at the end of Bridgeport’s season — a massive, confidence-boosting step.
asserted
He → up → season
…and 12 more, not listed.
The Aporia
