Capitals Move Up In Third Round To Take Ilya Protas, Younger Brother Of Aliaksei

LAS VEGAS — The Washington Capitals moved up in the third round on Saturday, trading picks away to move up to No. 75 overall and draft Ilya Protas.

Protas is the younger brother of Capitals forward Aliaksei, who went in the third round of the 2019 NHL Draft. D.C. had also moved up to take him in a trade with the New Jersey Devils.

Neither brother had any idea that Washington would make a move like that to take him.

The 6-foot-3, 184-pound forward is coming off an impressive season with the USHL's Des Moines Buccaneers, where he had 14 goals and 37 assists for 51 points in 61 games in his first year playing in North America.

Protas was one of the team's more productive players and was the Buccaneers' second-highest scorer and the third highest-scoring rookie in the USHL this past season.

View the original article to see embedded media.

Protas owns a big frame and uses his size to his advantage, and he takes good care of the puck, too. He is an impresive playmaker with good passing ability and quick hands, and he can get to the front of the net, too.

While he still has to work on his skating, he's a strong two-way player with upside, and with Aliaksei Protas living up to expectations, taking Ilya was an easy option.