Ilya Protas has arguably had the best year of any Washington Capitals prospect. At just 19 years old, the Belarusian pivot is the leading scorer of the AHL’s Hershey Bears and tied for the overall lead in league rookie scoring with his 50 points (25g, 25a) in 59 games.
After fellow Caps prospect Cole Hutson made his incredibly exciting NHL debut with the Capitals on Wednesday night, Protas is left the next most highly anticipated player in the organization. And, Caps head coach Spencer Carbery said Thursday morning that he’d like to see Protas also make his debut this season and play in one of Washington’s final 13 games.
“Absolutely would like that,” Carbery said. “Now, does it come to fruition? I’m not sure. He’s had a phenomenal season, as has been documented. I’ve watched and read the reports and had many text messages from people around the league about what they’ve seen from him, so it’s been impressive. At his age, to do what he’s done this year in the American Hockey League is not an easy feat.
“That is a hard, hard league. I don’t care where you were drafted, and I don’t care what your pedigree is. The American Hockey League is a difficult league to go into and not only survive but to be a productive player and play as well as Little Pro has. It’s been impressive to watch, so we’ll see where it goes. Potentially earned an opportunity to get into an NHL game this season.”
What Protas has done as a teenager in the AHL is just as special as Carbery indicates. Of all under-20 forwards to have played at least 50 games in the league since the 2000-01 season, Protas ranks 10th with his 0.85 point-per-game rate. Only one of those players, Patrice Bergeron (0.90), was primarily a center.
Some of the star names that Protas has outproduced include 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). His older brother, Aliaksei Protas, had seven points (2g, 5a) in 16 games (0.44) as a teenager for the Bears during the 2020-21 campaign.
When he scored his 21st goal of the season, he broke a Bears franchise record for most goals by a 19-year-old that had stood for 74 years.
After the deadline, the Capitals are free to send waivers-exempt players, like Protas, back and forth from the AHL with no added risk. The NHL’s 23-man roster limit is no longer in effect, and clubs only have to worry about staying salary cap compliant.
