{"id":547572,"date":"2026-04-08T15:20:32","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T15:20:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/547572\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T15:20:32","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T15:20:32","slug":"ilya-protas-to-make-nhl-debut-with-washington-capitals-the-hockey-writers-washington-capitals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/547572\/","title":{"rendered":"Ilya Protas to Make NHL Debut With Washington Capitals – The Hockey Writers – Washington Capitals"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Washington Capitals announced that they have recalled Ilya Protas from the Hershey Bears. Protas, 19, was drafted by the team in 2024 and has been a high-interest prospect in Hershey. The younger brother of forward Aliaksei Protas<\/a> has been dubbed \u201cLittle Pro\u201d by fans, who are ecstatic over his arrival in the NHL. How has Protas performed with the Bears, and what will he bring to the Capitals in the dwindling season?<\/p>\n

Protas\u2019 Play Style<\/p>\n

When looking at Protas, the first thing to catch your eye would be his sheer size. He stands at a towering 6-foot-6 and 225 pounds at his young age \u2014 there is room to grow and bulk up still. He is not afraid to throw around his frame and push opponents out of the way to get net-front and secure the puck. He skates well for his size and creates offense with an intelligence and skill beyond his years. His play style consistently works for him, too, as his production has been a standout all season.<\/p>\n

Related: Capitals Recent Success Has Playoff Chances Rising on Easter Sunday <\/a><\/p>\n

He is the highest-scoring American Hockey League (AHL) rookie<\/a> this season, and the sixth overall among all players. He is the only rookie to have cracked the top-10 in scoring. He has tallied an impressive 62 points (28 goals, 34 assists<\/a>) in 66 games, wowing the Capitals\u2019 front office enough to warrant a late-season call-up. Protas brings a young and energized play style to a veteran team. He, alongside other young players like Cole Hutson and Ryan Leonard, will bring fresh moves and valuable insight to the team as they make one final playoff push.<\/p>\n

He has stood out all season long, even earning the chance to be the team\u2019s AHL All-Star representative<\/a> and being named the Player of the Week multiple times. He played on the top line alongside other standout talents Andrew Cristall and Bogdan Trineyev for most of the season and found quick and impressive chemistry with them. It is expected that all three will join the Capitals full-time as early as next season.<\/p>\n

Excitement for Protas<\/p>\n

Both the Capitals organization and its fans have been buzzing over the call-up news. Head coach Spencer Carbery indicated obvious excitement<\/a>, saying, \u201cI think a couple factors play in, the obvious one being the season that he\u2019s having and how well he\u2019s played of late through this last stretch, but ultimately through the entire season.\u201d<\/p>\n

He further explained the reasoning behind the call-up, noting, \u201cthe second part, I think, would be, with where we\u2019re at, we\u2019re still fighting and hanging on to stay in this race. I think his coming in at this moment for our team could potentially give us a jolt of energy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"IlyaWashington Capitals forward Ilya Protas (Aaron Doster-Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

The elder Protas brother was ecstatic for his sibling<\/a>. \u201cHard to believe it right now, to be honest,\u201d Aliaksei said. \u201cLooking to the side (on the ice), looking in the gym \u2014 camp is one thing, but right now, seeing him get a chance to have a debut tomorrow, maybe, it\u2019s an unbelievable feeling. Just trying to stay focused right now, but it\u2019s a surreal feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ilya himself was, understandably, the most excited of the group, noting that the NHL call-up and playing alongside his brother were \u201cdefinitely a childhood dream come true\u201d. He added, \u201cIt\u2019s just unbelievable. I couldn\u2019t believe for a second. I was shaky for a bit. It\u2019s special, for sure. I can\u2019t wait until tomorrow\u201d. <\/p>\n

If practice lines stand true for the team\u2019s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Protas will be playing alongside his brother and Tom Wilson<\/a>, two powerful veteran wingers. The trio will be a force, with each of them bringing larger-than-average size and strong physicality alongside consistent scoring abilities. <\/p>\n

While the Capitals\u2019 playoff chances are slim, they are not out yet, so perhaps the excitement and buzz around Protas will bring the final energy they need to finish the season in a position to make the postseason. Their final games will be played against the Maple Leafs, twice against the Pittsburgh Penguins, and finally against the Columbus Blue Jackets. <\/p>\n

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<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Washington Capitals announced that they have recalled Ilya Protas from the Hershey Bears. Protas, 19, was drafted…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":547573,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5114],"tags":[191,5,590,4,190,109,5222],"class_list":{"0":"post-547572","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-washington-capitals","8":"tag-capitals","9":"tag-hockey","10":"tag-ilya-protas","11":"tag-nhl","12":"tag-washington","13":"tag-washington-capitals","14":"tag-washingtoncapitals"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116369767757048208","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/547572","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=547572"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/547572\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/547573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=547572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=547572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=547572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}