Ilya Protas is as hot as the sun in the AHL with the Hershey Bears.
Early in Hershey’s matchup with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Saturday night, the 19-year-old centerman extended his incredible goal-scoring streak to seven games. Protas buried a power-play goal 7:06 into the first period, finishing a backhanded drop pass from fellow Capitals prospect Ivan Miroshnichenko.
Andrew Cristall started the play, poking an attempted Penguins clear back into the offensive zone. Miroshnichenko then picked up the loose puck and ran out of room trying to make a power move to the net, so he slid a no-look feed into the slot, which Protas pounced on for the finish.
Protas later added an empty-net goal, his 10th goal of the season, with 5:50 remaining in the third period to seal the game for the Bears and a 6-2 victory.
Protas had three points on the evening in total — his seventh multi-point game in 19 appearances this season — after also recording a secondary assist on Hershey’s first goal of the game, scored by Graeme Clarke.
The 6-foot-6 forward is serving as Hershey’s number-one center, playing between Miroshnichenko and Alexander Suzdalev on Saturday.
Little Pro is averaging 1.10 points per game early in the 2025-26 campaign — a mark his older brother Aliaksei never came close to while playing on much more veteran Bears’ clubs.
