Cole Hutson found himself in a funny spot during Wednesday night’s Capitals-Maple Leafs game.
The 19-year-old defender was thrilled to score his third career goal and seal a 4-0 shutout victory for the Capitals until he realized who else was on the ice with him, namely the debuting Ilya Protas. After noticing that he could have set up Protas for his first NHL goal in his first game, Hutson made his way back to the team’s bench, visibly embarrassed.
“Yeah, did not see him trailing at all,” Hutson told RMNB’s Katie Adler on Friday. “So, I obviously put my arms up because I scored, and then I looked back. I know Big Pro was out there, and then I looked farther down the ice and I saw Little Pro, and I was like, ‘Oh my god, I could have gave him his first goal.’ But he doesn’t want it in (on) an empty net anyway.”
To Hutson’s credit, the younger Protas didn’t exactly rush up into the play and make himself available for an easy drop pass. Ilya also mentioned his awkward positioning when asked about the moment after Friday’s practice.
“No, he scored it all day because he was in that spot and, you know, it’s empty net,” Protas said. “I kind of wasn’t open there, and that’s good to score. There is no doubt.”
Instead of recording his first goal, Protas settled for his first career point, the secondary assist on Hutson’s marker. The point was made more special by the fact that his older brother, Aliaksei, registered the primary assist and fished the milestone puck out of Toronto’s net.
“That was special for me, for him, for the fam,” Protas said. “I didn’t really think about it during the shift. I just saw him on the other side, passed to him, and they get 2-on-1, and Cole scored. Yeah, it was special to share with him that moment.”
With Protas seemingly set to stick with the Capitals this weekend for a back-to-back against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Hutson is motivated to try to feed his fellow rookie and make up for his oversight.
“Yeah, definitely, I feel like I owe him one now,” Hutson said.
The Capitals have three total games left on their 2025-26 schedule, wrapping up their season against the Columbus Blue Jackets on April 14.
