CHL to NHL: Spits’ Protas debuts with Washington

Former Windsor Spitfires forward Ilya Protas made his NHL debut with the Washington Capitals Wednesday night.

In a 4-0 win over Toronto, Protas had an assist in 15:37 of ice time and recorded one block.

Protas spent one season in the OHL in 2024-25 but he made it count; he recorded 50 goals and 124 points to finish third and fifth respectively among CHL scorers and was named to the CHL’s Second All-Star Team. In the postseason, he added another 25 points (five goals) as the Spits reached the second round of the OHL Playoffs.

In his first year in the AHL with the Hershey Bears, the 19-year-old has 28 goals and 62 points in 66 games and was named an AHL All-Star earlier in the season.

Selected 75th overall in the 2024 NHL Draft, Protas made his NHL debut with his older brother, Aliaksei, a former standout with the Prince Albert Raiders, in the line-up.

one big step for little pro pic.twitter.com/OgLDcYXMac

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) April 8, 2026