The Washington Capitals announced they called up Ilya Protas, Aliaksei Protas‘s talented 19-year-old brother, from the Hershey Bears on Monday afternoon.
Protas, a third-round pick from the 2024 NHL Draft, leads the Bears with 28 goals and 62 points. He could make his NHL debut as soon as Wednesday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The recall comes two days after he recorded a career high six points (1g, 5a) in an 8-1 victory over the Hartford Wolf Pack. Hershey is off until the weekend, when they will make the trip down to Charlotte and play the Checkers twice in two days. The Bears are clinging to one of the final playoff spots in the AHL’s Atlantic Division.
Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery has previously stated that he’d like Protas to make his debut for the club this season. However, he was unsure if the team would be able to make that happen.
“Absolutely would like that,” Carbery said last month. “Now, does it come to fruition? I’m not sure. He’s had a phenomenal season, as has been documented.”
Of all under-20 forwards to have played at least 50 games in the AHL since the 2000-01 season, Protas ranks fifth with his 0.94 point-per-game rate. Some of the star names that Protas has outproduced include Patrice Bergeron (0.90), Martin Necas (0.81), Filip Forsberg (0.72), Kevin Fiala (0.71), JT Miller (0.55), Adrian Kempe (0.48), and Mika Zibanejad (0.48).
Protas leaves the AHL with a four-point lead over Quinn Hutson for the league’s rookie scoring lead this year. The hulking teenager also ranks sixth in overall AHL scoring, the only rookie placed in the top 10.
Protas arrives in the NHL after the Capitals suffered an embarrassing 8-1 loss to the New York Rangers on Sunday night, which trimmed their playoff qualification percentage odds back into the single digits. He is now the fourth rookie on the team’s roster, joining Cole Hutson, Ryan Leonard, and Justin Sourdif.
Unlike the highly touted Hutson and Leonard, who came from NCAA programs, the Capitals have seen Protas in a Capitals jersey before his impending debut. Protas has dressed in four total NHL preseason games over the past two falls, skating 61:54 of total ice time and recording two points (1g, 1a).
Here’s the Capitals’ full press release:
Capitals Recall Ilya Protas
19-year-old forward leads AHL rookies and ranks sixth among all skaters in points this season
ARLINGTON, Va. – The Washington Capitals have recalled forward Ilya Protas from the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL), senior vice president and general manager Chris Patrick announced today.
Protas, 19, has recorded a team-high 62 points (28g, 34a) in 66 games with Hershey this season. The 6’6”, 225-pound forward leads AHL rookies in points and ranks second in goals and third in assists among first-year players. Among all AHL skaters, Protas ranks sixth in points, tied for sixth in goals and tied for seventh in power-play goals (10). Protas leads the Bears in goals, points, power-play goals, power-play points (17), shots (141) and plus-minus (+16). On April 4 against Hartford, Protas recorded a career-high six points (1g, 5a), which marked the AHL’s first six-point game since 2019.
Protas spent last season with the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), where he ranked second in the OHL in scoring with 124 points (50g, 74a) in 61 games. Protas also ranked second in the OHL in plus-minus (+58), tied for second in assists and third in goals and game-winning goals (8). The Vitebsk, Belarus native became the first player since Alex DeBrincat in 2014-15 to score 50 goals in his first OHL season, while his 2.03 points-per-game rate was the highest by a Windsor player over a full season since Jason Spezza (2.09) in 2000-01. Protas added 25 points (5g, 20a) in 12 postseason games, which led all skaters through the first two rounds of the OHL Playoffs. Protas was the recipient of the William Hanley Trophy, presented annually to the League’s Most Sportsmanlike Player as voted by OHL General Managers, and named to the OHL Second All-Star Team.
During the 2023-24 season, Protas recorded 51 points (14g, 37a) in 37 games with the Des Moines Buccaneers of the United States Hockey League (USHL). Protas led USHL rookies in assists and ranked tied for second among first-year players in power-play goals (6) and third in points. In addition, Protas led Des Moines in assists and power-play goals, while his 51 points ranked second on the team.
Protas split the 2022-23 season between the Under-17 and Under-18 Belarus national teams, recording 34 points (19g, 15a) in 29 games with the Under-17s and nine points (5g, 4a) in 10 games with the Under-18s.
The Capitals selected Protas in the third round (75th overall) of the 2024 NHL Draft. Ilya’s older brother, Aliaksei, was drafted by the Capitals in the third round (91st overall) of the 2019 NHL Draft and has recorded 168 points (67g, 101a) in 317 career games with Washington. Aliaksei and Ilya Protas are the second set of brothers in franchise history to be selected by the Capitals, joining Yvon Corriveau (19th overall, 1985) and Rick Corriveau (168th overall, 1991).
