{{Short description|Belarusian hockey player (born 2006)}} {{Use Canadian English|date=April 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date= April 2026}} {{Infobox ice hockey player | name = Ilya Protas | image = 02092026 AHLAllStarSkills BR-0093.jpg | image_size = | caption = Protas with the Hershey Bears in 2026 | birth_date = {{birth date and age|2006|7|18}} | birth_place = Vitebsk, Belarus | height_ft = 6 | height_in = 6 | weight_lb = 225 | position = Centre | shoots = Left | league = NHL | team = Washington Capitals | prospect_team = Hershey Bears | prospect_league = AHL | former_teams = Des Moines Buccaneers Windsor Spitfires | ntl_team = Belarus | draft = 75th overall | draft_year = 2024 | draft_team = Washington Capitals | career_start = 2025 | career_end = }}
'''Ilya Protas''' ({{langx|be|Илья Уладзіміравіч Протас}}, {{langx|ru|Илья Владимирович Протас}}; born July 18, 2006) is a Belarusian professional ice hockey player who is a centre for the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL). He made his professional debut in 2024 with the Hershey Bears.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ilya Protas Hockey Stats and Profile at hockeydb.com |url=https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=270607 |website=hockeydb.com |access-date=13 April 2026}}</ref>
==Playing career== Protas began his junior career in 2023 playing for the Des Moines Buccaneers of the United States Hockey League (USHL). While playing for Des Moines, he was drafted 75th overall in the 2024 NHL entry draft by the Washington Capitals. He played in 61 games for the Buccaneers, scoring 14 goals and assisting on 37, for a total of 51 points.
For the 2024–25 season, Protas joined the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Playing in 61 games, Protas scored 50 goals and assisted on 74, for a total of 124 points. In twelve playoff games, he scored 5 goals and had 20 assists, for a total of 25 points.
Protas began the 2025–26 season playing for the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League. In 66 games, Protas scored 28 goals and 34 assists, for a total 62 points. Protas was called up to the Capitals on April 6, 2026.<ref>{{cite web |title=Capitals Recall Ilya Protas from Hershey |url=https://www.hersheybears.com/news/capitals-recall-ilya-protas-from-hershey/ |website=hersheybears.com |date=April 6, 2026 |access-date=13 April 2026}}</ref> Protas scored his first NHL point during a 4–0 victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 8, 2026, his debut game. He then scored his first career NHL goal in a 6–3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on April 11, 2026.<ref>{{cite web |title=Protas Records First NHL Point in Debut, Sets Up Hutson's Empty Netter with Brother |url=https://www.eliteprospects.com/video/669665944645659/protas-records-first-nhl-point-in-debut-sets-up-hutsons-empty-netter-with-brother-apr-8-2026 |website=eliteprospects.com |date=April 9, 2026 |access-date=13 April 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Crosby |first1=Wes |title=Ilya Protas has 3 points, Capitals defeat Penguins to stay in wild-card hunt |url=https://www.nhl.com/news/washington-capitals-pittsburgh-penguins-game-recap-april-11-2026 |website=nhl.com |date=April 11, 2026 |access-date=13 April 2026}}</ref> He finished the NHL season with one goal and three assists in four games. On April 15, 2026, Protas was loaned back to Hershey.<ref>{{cite web |title=Capitals Loan Ivan Miroshnichenko, Ilya Protas and Clay Stevenson to Hershey |url=https://www.nhl.com/capitals/news/capitals-loan-ivan-miroshnichenko-ilya-protas-and-clay-stevenson-to-hershey |website=nhl.com |date=April 15, 2026 |access-date=18 April 2026}}</ref> On April 23, 2026, Protas was awarded the Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award, given to the "rookie of the year" in the AHL.<ref name="yahoo-roty">{{Cite web |last=Lichtman |first=Harry |date=April 23, 2026 |title=Capitals' Ilya Protas named AHL Rookie of the Year |url=https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/capitals-ilya-protas-named-ahl-195029643.html |access-date=2026-04-30 |website=Yahoo Sports |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="ahlroty">{{Cite web |date=April 23, 2026 |title=Bears' Protas wins Dudley (Red) Garrett Award as top rookie |url=https://theahl.com/news/protas-garrett-award-top-rookie |access-date=2026-04-30 |website=theahl.com |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Personal life== Protas' older brother, Aliaksei, was drafted by the Capitals in the third round of the 2019 NHL entry draft.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Silber |first1=Sammi |title=Capitals Move Up In Third Round To Take Ilya Protas, Younger Brother Of Aliaksei |url=https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/washington-capitals/news/washington-capitals-ilya-protas |website=thehockeynews.com |date=June 29, 2024 |access-date=29 June 2024}}</ref>
==Career statistics== ===Regular season and playoffs=== {| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; width:60em" |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff"| ! rowspan="100" bgcolor="#ffffff"| ! colspan="5"|Regular season ! rowspan="100" bgcolor="#ffffff"| ! colspan="5"|Playoffs |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! Season ! Team ! League ! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! PIM ! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! PIM |- | 2023–24 | Des Moines Buccaneers | USHL | 61 || 14 || 37 || 61 || 14 | — || — || — || — || — |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 2024–25 | Windsor Spitfires | OHL | 61 || 50 || 74 || 124 || 34 | 12 || 5 || 20 || 25 || 6 |- | 2025–26 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 69 || 29 || 37 || 66 || 40 | 6 || 2 || 4 || 6 || 6 |- |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 2025–26 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 4 || 1 || 3 || 4 || 2 | — || — || — || — || — |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="3"|NHL totals ! 4 !! 1 !! 3 !! 4 !! 2 ! — !! — !! — !! — !! — |}
==Awards and honours== {| class="wikitable" ! Award ! Year ! Ref |- ! colspan="3"|USHL |- | USHL All-Rookie Team | 2024 | <ref>{{Cite web |url=https://ushl.com/news/2024/5/1/general-ushl-all-rookie-teams-announced-for-2023-24.aspx |title=USHL All-Rookie Teams Announced for 2023-24 |website=USHL |date=May 8, 2024 |access-date=May 9, 2024}}</ref> |- ! colspan="3"|OHL |- | OHL All-Star Second team | 2025 | <ref>{{Cite web|title=OHL Announces 2024-25 All-Star and All-Rookie Teams|url=https://chl.ca/ohl/article/ohl-announces-2024-25-all-star-and-all-rookie-teams/|website=Canadian Hockey League|date=May 30, 2025|access-date=April 29, 2026}}</ref> |- | William Hanley Trophy | 2025 | <ref>{{cite web |title=Spitfires' Ilya Protas claims William Hanley Trophy as OHL's Most Sportsmanlike Player |url=https://chl.ca/ohl/video/spitfires-ilya-protas-claims-william-hanley-trophy-as-ohls-most-sportsmanlike-player/ |website=Canadian Hockey League |date=April 15, 2025 |access-date=April 29, 2026}}</ref> |- ! colspan="3"|AHL |- | AHL All-Star Game | 2026 | <ref name="ahlroty" /> |- | Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award | 2026 | <ref name="yahoo-roty" /><ref name="ahlroty" /> |}
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * {{Ice hockey stats |nhl=8484999 |elite= 949987 |espn=5229146 |euro=645106 |hr=p/protail01 |hockeydb=270607 |tsn=ilya-protas }}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Protas, Ilya}} Category:2006 births Category:Living people Category:Belarusian ice hockey centres Category:Des Moines Buccaneers players Category:Hershey Bears players Category:Ice hockey people from Vitebsk region Category:Washington Capitals draft picks Category:Washington Capitals players Category:Windsor Spitfires players