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Ilya Protas has a message for a message for his older brother, Aliaksei
Photo credit: CHL
The Washington Capitals season is officially over, and general manager Chris Patrick has his eyes set on bolstering his team next season.
That's said, the Washington Capitals arguably have the strongest prospect pool in the NHL, and fans could see a boat load of new talent make the jump next year.
One of them is Ilya Protas, younger brother of Caps forward Ilya Protas, who has emerged as one of the best talents in the organization.
Recently, Ilya made himself available to the media, where he gave fans a personal glimpse into the close bond he shares with his older brother.
Yeah, pretty proud of him. The season he had, he did a great job and played really good out there,» Aliaksei told RMNB. «And yeah, he obviously, the [Windsor Spitfires] as a whole, wanted to be more successful in the playoff run. But I think in terms of individually, he had a really good season. And I'm really proud of him and having the chance to compete for maybe spot in the playoffs with Hershey. Not a bad thing for sure, you know? It's great for him to see the pro players playing.»
»Obviously, we are staying in touch like every day almost,» Aliaksei said. «We have a phone call every day, pretty much. Maybe twice a day sometimes, like at night and during the day. Especially during the season, we really talked a lot. And I try to help him as much as I can in terms of like game and everything. And yeah, just he wants to see my daughter, too. So we just have a phone like pretty much every day.»
When comparing the two Belarusians' age-18 seasons, Ilya's production at this point in his career suggests he's ahead of Aliaksei's development - at least in terms of being a playmaker and scorer. However, they had different roles on different teams in different leagues.
Ilya had a career season with the Windsor Spitfires last season, and it should be interesting if the young forward has progressed enough to crack the Caps starting roster come next season.
More details to follow.
| POLL | ||
JUIN 8 | 27 ANSWERS Ilya Protas has a message for a message for his older brother, Aliaksei Do you think Ilya Protas will crack the Washington Capitals starting roster next season? | ||
| Yes | 16 | 59.3 % |
| No | 11 | 40.7 % |
| List of polls | ||