Last night, the Capitals took on the Bruins in their second preseason game, with a little brotherly surprise. Aliaksei Protas and his brother Ilya Protas played in their first NHL game together. Aliaksei, 23, just signed a five-year, $16.875 million contract with the Caps in January. Ilya, 18, was drafted 75th overall by the Capitals this year.
There are only a handful of brothers playing in the NHL. It’s even rarer for two brothers to play on the same team at the same time, even if this time it was just in preseason. Ilya and Aliaksei are only the 48th pair of brothers to play together on the same NHL team since 1917. They are the second pair of Belorussian brothers to do so in an NHL game.
Speaking before the game about playing together, Ilya and Aliaksei seemed excited and amused by the opportunity. “I’m sure it’s gonna be special,” Aliaksei said, while Ilya mentioned he was “A little bit nervous but excited.”
When asked if their parents will be watching back home, “They have trip to mountains kind of away from Belarus… So they’re not gonna be able to see it. That’s on them.” Aliaksei joked.
Ilya seems to be fitting in well on the team, already with two nicknames. Most have been calling him “Little Pro,” but Ilya also said that one of the Capitals’ training staff coaches started calling him “Hammer.” I guess we’ll just have to see which one sticks (and by that, I mean which nickname team captain and official nickname-giver Alex Ovechkin decides is best).
Though neither Ilya or Aliaksei got on the scoreboard last night, they combined for 5 shots on goal. One of Aliaksei’s shots came off a clever feed from brother Ilya getting the puck up ice. Big Pro also showed off his skating skills, blasting past Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo to get a quick shot off.
The Protas brothers are not expected to play again tonight when the Caps take on the Devils in their third preseason game. It may be awhile before we see them play together again in Capitals jerseys. Ilya Protas will likely return quickly to the OHL Windsor Spitfires, who start their regular season tonight.
