The Washington Capitals have injury issues up the middle, and one player who could certainly help fix the team’s current center depth problems would be Ilya Protas.
The 19-year-old Belarusian pivot has excelled, posting unbelievable numbers early in his rookie AHL season. Currently, “Little Pro” is on a six-game goal-scoring streak and leads the Hershey Bears in both goals and points — something he didn’t even believe possible coming into the year.
Heading into their game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery was asked by the media if the team had considered promoting Ilya from the Bears and giving him his NHL debut.
“Little Pro comes up every day,” Carbery said. “And it’s not about him being called up; it’s just us keeping tabs on Hershey, what’s going on there, watching the highlights, reading the reports, having discussions after we watch some of the footage or hear some of the feedback from the coaches there, management, or scouts. I think the organization — I’m not going to speak for (general manager) Chris (Patrick), but he’s doing really, really well down there, so that’s very exciting. You love to see that.
“So where your mind goes next is, ‘Okay, when can he come up here and do those same types of things?’ But I think it’s just a matter of – young player doing very well in the American Hockey League, developing, from all accounts, production-wise, and everything that we’re hearing from there is that he’s doing a great job — so it’s just continuing to develop and work at your game. The time will come.”
Despite being a year younger than most prospects who turn pro (age 20), Protas has been given significant responsibility by Bears’ head coach Derek King. Protas has been a staple of the Bears’ top six all season and plays in all situations — both on the power play and on the penalty kill. The Capitals’ 2024 third-round pick has rewarded that trust with 16 points (8g, 8a) in his first 17 games with the Bears.
At the NHL level, the Capitals are currently dealing with injuries to veteran centers Nic Dowd (upper body) and Pierre-Luc Dubois. Dubois will be lost for most of the season after undergoing major surgery, while Dowd has missed the team’s last six games. Justin Sourdif, Connor McMichael, and Hendrix Lapierre have lined up in the bottom three center spots with those veteran players out.
The Capitals placed Nic Dowd on injured reserve on Wednesday and called up winger Bogdan Trineyev ahead of their game against the Jets. Trineyev had been playing wing on Protas’ line with the Bears.
“He’s played really well down in Hershey, from all reports,” Carbery said of Trineyev. “Miro is just coming back right now, so just the thought process to let him continue to play, not taking anything away from Bogdan, he’s playing really, really well.”
