The Washington Capitals officially announced Saturday that 18-year-old prospect Ilya Protas will join the Hershey Bears for the 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs.
One new detail that emerged is that Ilya will wear his older brother’s former number in Hershey: #40.
The final time Aliaksei Protas suited up on the Bears with the no. 40 was on June 21, 2023, when he helped push Hershey to the franchise’s twelfth Calder Cup championship. Aliaksei finished tied for third in playoff scoring on the team, registering 13 points (5g, 8a) in 20 games. He fully graduated to the NHL with the Capitals during the 2023-24 season.
Ilya is joining the Bears, likely as a reserve, after finishing his rookie season in the OHL earlier in the week. As a member of the Windsor Spitfires, Ilya finished second in league scoring during the regular season with 124 points (50g, 74a) in 61 games and led the league in postseason points — 25 (5g, 20a) in 12 games — at the time of his elimination in the second round.
The adorable number assignment comes after the Capitals traded up to select Ilya in the third round of the 2024 NHL Draft last June. Aliaksei was in attendance to support his little brother and screamed out in happiness when he realized the two would play in the same organization together.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” Aliaksei said then.
During Capitals’ training camp, the two brothers — with an age difference of five years — actually got an opportunity to play together in the same preseason game against the Boston Bruins.
“It’s something we couldn’t even dream of,” Aliaksei said. “Being on the same team, it’s going to be something special.”
Months later, the brothers’ goals have gotten bigger. Ilya recently shared that not only does he want to be good enough to be an NHL player someday, but he also wants to lift the Stanley Cup together with Aliaksei.
“[Playing with my brother] is one of the big dreams,” Ilya said. “The most important thing is to win the Stanley Cup with him.”
