The Nashville Predators signed Belarusian forward Vitali Pinchuk to a one-year, $1.025 million contract this past April.
While the Predators ultimately landed the high-scoring KHL center, Pinchuk also drew significant interest from the Washington Capitals, who consulted with one of their own Belarusian talents, Aliaksei Protas, about him. However, Pinchuk believes the emergence of someone very close to Protas may have blocked him from joining the Caps.
“[Washington] were very interested in me and contacted [Aliaksei] Protas, asking about me,” Pinchuk said recently during an appearance for WINLINE, as translated via Google Translate. “But then, when his brother [Ilya] joined, they calmed down so as not to create unnecessary competition. He’s also a central player.”
Ilya Protas, the reigning AHL Rookie of the Year, had an incredible age-19 season in the AHL with the Hershey Bears, leading the league’s rookies in scoring with 66 points (29g, 37a) in 69 games and tying for sixth in scoring among all players. Among just rookies, Protas also finished second in goals and assists, second in power-play goals (11), and first in points per game among players with at least 48 games played (0.96).
The prolific year led to a recall from the Capitals in April and his first four NHL games. In those games, Protas continued to impress, notching four points (1g, 3a) and likely earning him a spot on the club out of training camp for the 2026-27 campaign.
“Yeah, I think based on his body work there at the end of the season, I am going to pencil him in, in my head,” Capitals general manager Chris Patrick said in June. “I think he showed that he can definitely play at this level, at a high level. So, I think, for me, at least to start, I’m going to assume he’s going to be part of our center ice group.”
With Protas slated for that spot, the Capitals are stocked down the middle with him, Dylan Strome, Pierre-Luc Dubois, and Justin Sourdif, leaving no room for an addition like Pinchuk. Instead, Pinchuk opted to sign with a team like the Predators that is expected to have much more opportunity up front. He will become a restricted free agent ahead of the 2027-28 campaign.
Pinchuk, 24, played his sixth season in the KHL with Dinamo Minsk this past year, skating on a line with former Hershey forwards Sam Anas and Alex Limoges. In 65 games, Pinchuk recorded 66 points (31g, 35a), ranking third in the league in goals and tied for sixth in overall scoring.
