Washington Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery gave a first look at the club’s revamped power play personnel during training camp. The two units, led by new assistant coach Ray Bennett, include some of the best young talents in Washington’s organization.
One of the most intriguing names is 20-year-old centerman Ilya Protas, who will star on an almost entirely brand new second unit.
Capitals power-play units
PP1: Alex Ovechkin, Dylan Strome, Tom Wilson, Jakob Chychrun, Pierre-Luc Dubois
PP2: Ryan Leonard, Alex Tuch, Cole Hutson, Jordan Kyrou, Ilya Protas
Carbery was recently asked what went into the decision to give Protas so much responsibility to kick off his rookie campaign, and what gives him the confidence that the young forward can handle being the primary center on an NHL power-play unit.
“Last year, a little bit of what he did in the NHL for us, production in the American League, and even dating back to Windsor (OHL),” Carbery said. “And then also his role, right? It’s important. If he’s not going to be on the penalty kill, we need to make sure that he has a role and he’s being utilized appropriately.
“Could you put Justin Sourdif on the power play? Yeah. Could you put his big brother on the power play? Yeah, you probably could, and there’s probably arguments to do that, but, Little Pro, I think there’s just as strong an argument to put him out there with what he showed last year.”
Protas starred for the Hershey Bears in what will likely be his lone season with the AHL team, scoring 11 power-play goals as the main playmaker on the club’s top power-play unit. He then moved up to the NHL and played four games for the Capitals at the end of the 2025-26 season, picking up four points (1g, 3a).
In those games, he averaged 15:54 of time on ice per game, with 2:26 of that coming with the Capitals on a power play. When ranked among all Caps players over the course of the full season, that man-advantage ice time mark would rank sixth, behind only Alex Ovechkin (4:29), Dylan Strome (3:07), Jakob Chychrun (3:01), Tom Wilson (2:51), and John Carlson (2:33).
Protas’s immediate jump to that level of trust from Carbery is made more interesting when matched with the fact that his older brother, Aliaksei Protas, still hasn’t scored a power-play goal in his career despite scoring at least 25 goals in the past two seasons. The elder Protas has seen just 19 seconds of power-play ice time per game since he debuted with the Caps during the 2021-22 campaign.
While all three of his NHL assists came at even strength, Ilya’s lone goal, the first of his Capitals career, came on the power play. The tally, which was his third point in a 6-3 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on April 11, came on a rebound put-back of a Cole Hutson point drive.
Ilya Protas scores first NHL goal on power play
The team’s entire second unit has something to prove this season, as Cole Hutson, the likely quarterback, will also be looking to have a big rookie season; Ryan Leonard will want to live up to the massive contract extension he signed earlier this month; and Jordan Kyrou and Alex Tuch need to have big years to prove Washington’s front office right about making them marquee offseason additions.
Overall, Washington’s power play struggled significantly last season under the guidance of former assistant coach Kirk Muller. They finished 25th in the NHL, scoring on just 17.8 percent of their opportunities.
