The Washington Capitals announced on Friday that they’re loaning 2019 third-round pick Aliaksei Protas to the KHL to begin next season. Protas will suit up for Dinamo Minsk, which is located in his home country of Belarus.
The Caps added that they expect to recall the mammoth forward back to North America either for the start of the Western Hockey League’s (WHL) 2020-21 season or Capitals’ Training Camp.
Washington Capitals 2019 third-round pick and WHL scoring phenom, Aliaksei Protas represented Belarus in this year’s Division 1A World Junior Championship. The hulking center led his country in scoring on the way to a bronze medal in world junior hockey’s second tier of the championship.
The Belorussians beat Norway to claim bronze and the Austrians beat Latvia to claim gold and a spot in the top tier competition next year.
By Chris Cerullo 7 months ago
The Athletic’s Corey Pronman wrote over the summer that the Washington Capitals have the second-worst farm system in the NHL. But after another great draft, the Capitals are making Corey reconsider.
Monday, the prospects guru named Aliaksei Protas the 2019 NHL Draft’s biggest riser.
The Capitals drafted Protas in the third round, number 91 overall.
By Chris Cerullo 9 months ago
Connor McMichael and Aliaksei Protas, both of the Capitals’ most recent draft class, have continued their hot starts to the 2019-20 season.
A huge four-point night from McMichael (London Knights) saw him earn three primary assists and score the game-winning goal in the final minutes against the North Bay Battalion. Protas (Prince Albert Raiders) chipped in a point as well in a victory against the Brandon Wheat Kings.
As of Saturday morning, both Capitals prospects lead their respective junior leagues in scoring.
By Chris Cerullo 9 months ago
Capitals prospect Aliaksei Protas has impressed through the first nine games of the Prince Albert Raiders’ 2019-20 season.
On Tuesday, the Raiders named Protas as part of the team’s leadership group, making him an alternate captain.
By Donya Abramo 10 months ago
Aliaksei Protas, the Washington Capitals’ third-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, is continuing to take the WHL by storm with the Prince Albert Raiders.
In the Raiders’ decisive 8-4 win over against the Moose Jaw Warriors on Saturday, Protas tallied two goals and an assist.
Protas is now tied for first in WHL points along with Bryce Kindopp of the Everett Silvertips and James Hamblin of the Medicine Hat Tigers. Protas has 14 points through nine games played, and he is also fourth in goals scored with six.
By Donya Abramo 10 months ago
On Thursday, the Washington Capitals made their first round of roster cuts from Training Camp. Amongst the players cut were Aliaksei Protas and Connor McMichael, both forwards drafted by the Capitals in 2019 who each put up an impressive performance in Development Camp, the Prospect Showcase, and the preseason. McMichael and Protas were loaned back to their respective junior teams; the London Knights of the OHL for McMichael and the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders for Protas.
That offensive momentum followed them to the WHL and OHL, as both players scored goals in their first games after returning to the junior league.
By Donya Abramo 11 months ago
The Washington Capitals had an off day on Thursday but their front office remained active. Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan pared down the Capitals’ Training Camp roster from 62 to 44 in their first major cuts of the preseason.
The biggest news was that Connor McMichael (London; OHL) and Aliaksei Protas (Prince Albert; WHL) were loaned back to their respective junior teams. Both 18-year-old picks from the 2019 NHL Draft were impressive in their two preseason games with the Capitals. The mammoth Protas scored three points in his NHL preseason debut, including his first goal at the big league level.
McMichael was in the running to remain with the team and fill in during Evgeny Kuznetsov’s three-game suspension to start the regular season.
By Ian Oland 11 months ago
Aliaksei Protas played his first game in the NHL Monday at Capital One Arena. And while it was just a preseason game, Protas will likely remember it forever. The 2019 third-round pick collected three points and was named the first star of the night. He received kudos from both head coach Todd Reirden and Stanley Cup champion Tom Wilson after the game.
Protas helped set up Wilson’s overtime game-winner, scored a goal himself, and used a nifty no-look pass to hit Travis Boyd for a powerplay marker.
“Man, they played unbelievable,” Wilson said of the team’s young stars, including Protas. “I’d go down the list, but I’d be scared to leave somebody out because there were so many of them that played well. I think they carried us for the most part. Obviously, [Protas] and I thought McMichael, they all had pretty strong games.”
The 18-year-old center, the 91st overall pick in this past summer’s draft, signed a three-year entry-level deal with the Capitals in early July after impressing in Development Camp. Protas won a WHL championship and lifted the Ed Chynoweth Trophy last season as a member of the Prince Albert Raiders along with second-round pick Brett Leason. Protas is slated to return to junior hockey this season.
By Ian Oland 11 months ago
The Washington Capitals completed a trifecta of signings this week when they came to terms with the first three of their selections from the 2019 NHL Draft.
During the week, all three prospects — Connor McMichael, Brett Leason, and Aliaksei Protas — posted staged photos signing their first professional contracts and posted them on their social media accounts.
McMichael and Protas even went the extra mile by throwing on their Capitals jerseys for the pics. You kids can stay.
