Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov has not played in an NHL game since November 29th, 2024. Since that time, Varlamov has been on what was seemingly a never-ending road to recovery from two partial knee replacements. There was never a set timetable for his return and the rehab process of almost two years was met with several setbacks that did make him wonder if he was ever going to be able to return to the sport that he loved.
“Some days, it was in my mind when things were not going well. We had a lot of setbacks and pushbacks and I was thinking maybe this is it and I wouldn’t be able to come back.”
The odds were certainly against him.
The idea that a professional athlete, especially one who is a goalie, a position that requires a lot of moving from side to side, flexibility, and dealing with lots of contact in front of the net, to be able to return from these injuries would seem to be a pipedream.
“People have done it but not professional hockey players,” said Varlamov. “That was like a crazy idea and a very risky idea. I took a risk and had to a lot of rehab and just had to be very patient about the whole thing on a daily basis.”
The waiting, the rehab, and the patience paid off as Varlamov was on the ice for day one of Islanders training camp on Thursday at Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow.
After almost two years, there was number 40 on the ice for an NHL practice with his teammates and prospects. This wasn’t just a behind closed doors skating session with other Islanders players who have been out with injuries over the last year like Kyle Palmieri, Alex Romanov, and Pierre Engval.
There was Varlamov getting through an almost two-hour practice after a 22-month absence and two knee surgeries.
“The work that Varly has put in is really impressive,” said Islanders General Manager Mathieu Darche. “He could have rolled into the sunset and just collect the last two years of his contract.”
Varlamov has enjoyed a stellar National Hockey League career appearing in 621 games over 17 seasons. His time on Long Island was highlighted by leading the Islanders to back-to-back trips to the NHL’s final four, the Eastern Conference Final in the bubble in 2020 and the Stanley Cup Semifinals in 2021.
So, why did he push so hard to come back?
Why didn’t he just call it a career?
“I wasn’t ready to retire,” said Varlamov after Thursday’s practice. “Mentally, I wasn’t there. I’m not there yet. I still have a lot of respect and love for the game and I want to be around this team. This is very exciting so I wanted to push myself. I had a lot of motivation because the team is looking good. This is a great team. I want to be part of it longer.”
To say it was a long process for Varlamov to return would be the understatement of the year.
Each day for him was a battle both physically and mentally with plenty of ups and downs. He thought he would be able to return sooner, but setbacks kept derailing his return to the Islanders and that just made him worker harder and harder.
If he wasn’t going to be back, it wasn’t going to be because he didn’t do everything possible.
“I’m finally feeling good and feeling 100 percent after the first day of training camp so I’m very excited and looking forward to playing again,” said Varlamov. “My body is feeling good. Everything that happened is in the past and I just want to move on and I’m just looking forward to a good successful year.”
The breakthrough for Varlamov came near the end of last season at the beginning of March. He started to feel better and that led to him ramping up his skating. Varly had been on the ice three times a week but then he started to push himself and was skating four or five times a week. His body and his knees were responded better than earlier in the rehab process and that put the thought in Varlamov’s head that he was ready to play in a game…
…just not an NHL game.
“The more I skated, the better I felt and by the middle of March, I realized that I would have a chance maybe to play,” said Varlamov.
That opportunity would come in April with the Islanders’ American Hockey League affiliate in Bridgeport. In his first game for the Bridgeport Islanders on April 15th, he made 18 saves in a 5-2 victory over the Hartford Wolf Pack, the Rangers’ AHL affiliate. Three days later, in his second game for Bridgeport, he stopped 28 out of 29 shots in a 2-1 victory over the Hershey Bears.
For Bridgeport, Varly was 2-0 with a 1.50 goals against average and a .939 save percentage.
Those two games played a huge role in the Islanders’ decision to have Varlamov come to training camp.
“I’m pretty happy I played those games,” said Varlamov. “It definitely gave me a boost of confidence that I can do this and I can play hockey again. I wanted to play and test myself and see how my knees were going to react during a real game and not just practices. It was very important to play. I feel like if I didn’t play those two games, there’s no chance that the team would give me a chance to be part of this training camp.”
While Varlamov worked so hard to give him a chance to return, there is no return without the work of the Islanders’ medical staff who was with him throughout the process.
“I worked with incredible people here,” said Varlamov. “The medical staff has been very helpful. I couldn’t do it without them. They’ve done an amazing job bringing me back on the ice.”
Varlamov also pointed out the work of Martin Roche, MD, the West Palm Beach, Florida orthopedic surgeon who performed the two procedures on Varly’s knees. Roche is the Director of Arthroplasty at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Florida and specializes in complex knee disorders.
Roche, who also performed the advanced, robot-assisted partial knee replacement surgery on American skier Lindsey Vonn, might just be the MVP of Varlamov’s comeback.
“The surgeon who did the operations on me Martin Roche…I also want to thank him,” said Varlamov. “He did an unbelievable job doing these unusual in the hockey world surgeries.”
Varlamov’s recovery was so remarkable that when he was examined by Islanders doctors before the start of training camp, they were amazed.
“(They said) Varly is going to be a case study for whoever did the surgeries because it’s impressive how he’s come back,” said Darche.
While it’s a major milestone that Varlamov is on the ice with the Islanders for training camp, it’s not yet known when he will suit up in a game.
The fact that Varlamov is even an option for pre-season games is stunning news to Head Coach Peter DeBoer who took over with four games remaining last season.
“When I got here and I heard about the surgery he had undergone, I was not counting on seeing him at all,” said DeBoer.
With Varly on the ice Thursday, seeing is believing.
The Islanders’ four-game pre-season schedule begins on Sunday afternoon in New Jersey against the Devils and then they visit the Rangers on Tuesday night, The exhibition schedule concludes next weekend with a pair of games at UBS Arena against the Rangers on Friday and the Devils on Saturday.
The regular season begins on September 30th in Toronto.
Whenever Varlamov returns to game action, its certainly going to be emotional.
“We’re all human beings,” said Varlamov. “Of course it’s going to be emotional. If I tell you I’m not going to be emotional, that’s a lie. Every player would be emotional when you haven’t played for a while. Of course it will be very emotional.”
And that would truly make it a Long Island-based true Hollywood story…seeing Varlamov in an NHL game for the first time in almost two years. Even in a pre-season game, seeing number 40 between the pipes would be nothing short of remarkable.
As long as there’s no setbacks.
“I hope it will happen,” said Varlamov of his anticipated return. “I’m still working on things and getting back and then play the first game. I can only control what’s happening today. I can’t think what’s going to happen in two or three weeks. It’s out of my control when I’m going to play, now many games I’m going to play. Maybe I’m not going to play. Who knows right? There are a lot of good goalies here.”
Including Vezina Trophy finalist Ilya Sorokin who was overworked at times last season, especially down the stretch as the Islanders were unable to punch their ticket to the playoffs. DeBoer estimates that the Islanders will need about 30 games from the backup goalie position and to give the team a bit of insurance, they brought in veteran Vitek Vanecek during the off-season.
Coming back from two knee surgeries has certainly been a challenge for Varlamov, but once he returns, he expects to pick up where he left off almost two years ago.
“Nothing has changed,” said Varlamov. “Just be ready 100 percent feel good and stay healthy and I’ll try to help the team to win hockey games. That’s the goal.”
It’s been a long road back for Semyon Varlamov. Just seeing him on the ice for training camp is incredible and playing in games would take that incredible feeling up a notch.
To see him hoist a Stanley Cup in an Islanders uniform…well that would be the happy ending for the perfect Hollywood script.It has been a long road back for the Islanders netminder.
It has been a long road back for the Islanders netminder.
