Aliaksei Protas Predicts Brother Ilya’s NHL Debut with Capitals After Stellar OHL Season trucc

Ilya Protas is one of the NHL’s fastest rising prospects. After the Washington Capitals made him a third-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, the 18-year-old Belarusian recorded 124 points (50g, 74a) in 61 games for the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires during the 2024-25 campaign, finishing second in the league in scoring.

Protas’s tremendous first season in one of the world’s premier junior leagues came simultaneously with his older brother, Aliaksei Protas, breaking out in the NHL with 66 points (30g, 36a) in 76 games for the Capitals. The two brothers have Caps fans salivating about a potential future NHL connection, a partnership that Aliaksei believes could happen as soon as next season.

“I agree,” Aliaksei responded to Bet News last week when asked if Ilya could make his NHL debut next year, as translated via Google Translate. “He is a modest guy. Even more Belarusian than I am. A good guy, without rottenness, everyone loves him. Sociable, with a good sense of humor. And in terms of work, too, you can’t find fault. Hardworking, always followed me, and tried to take all the best things.”

The younger Protas signed his three-year, entry-level contract with the Capitals following his participation in development camp last July. Caps head coach Spencer Carbery later gave Little Pro his NHL preseason debut alongside Aliaksei against the Boston Bruins in September.

Due to their five-year age gap, the exhibition match was the first they had ever played on the same team in any setting. One of Ilya’s primary professional goals is to dress in an official game with his brother and win some silverware.

“[Playing with my brother] is one of the big dreams,” Ilya said in April. “The most important thing is to win the Stanley Cup with him.”

Both brothers have spoken about how Aliaksei challenges Ilya to get better every day, and the two regularly train together over the summer in their native Belarus.

“I preferred a more severe style – I said everything as it was, without beating around the bush,” Aliaksei said. “I was a negative person, which I think is also useful. Because you always have to understand what is missing, even if you are good at a certain level.

“He can always count on the opinion of his older brother. With age, I must admit, he began to listen to me much more attentively.”

Ilya ultimately has three options for where he’ll play his hockey next year. He could end up back with the Spitfires in the OHL, where he was awarded the William Hanley Trophy, presented annually to the league’s most sportsmanlike player, and named to the 2024-25 OHL Second All-Star Team.

The AHL’s Hershey Bears are an option as Ilya was drafted out of the USHL, so he is not subject to the NHL-CHL transfer agreement, which bars teenage-aged prospects from leaving their CHL teams for the AHL.

He could also stick with the Capitals in the NHL if the team chooses to opt for more youth in their lineup. The Capitals currently have just nine regular forwards from their recent playoff run under contract for next season.

Ilya’s contract can slide again next year in his age-19 season if he does not play 10 games with the Capitals, meaning he’d become a restricted free agent after the 2028-29 season.