Aliaksei Uladzimiravich Protas ( be, Аляксей Уладзіміравіч Протас, russian: Алексей Владимирович Протас; born 6 January 2001) is a Belarusian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

for the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL) ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). Protas previously played two seasons of

major junior Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

for the

Prince Albert Raiders The Prince Albert Raiders are a major junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League. The Raiders play in the East Division of the Eastern Conference. They are based in the city of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada. The team plays its hom ...

of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

(WHL), and was selected 91st overall by the

in the

2019 NHL Entry Draft The 2019 NHL Entry Draft was the 57th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 21–22, 2019 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia. The first three selections were Jack Hughes going to the New Jersey Devils, Kaapo Kakko being select ...

. He made his professional debut in 2020 with Dinamo Minsk of the

Kontinental Hockey League The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; russian: Континентальная хоккейная лига (КХЛ), Kontinental'naya khokkeynaya liga) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs ba ...

. Internationally Protas has played for the Belarusian national junior team at two World Junior Championships.

Playing career

Protas started his career in his hometown of

Vitebsk Vitebsk or Viciebsk (russian: Витебск, ; be, Ві́цебск, ; , ''Vitebsk'', lt, Vitebskas, pl, Witebsk), is a city in Belarus. The capital of the Vitebsk Region, it has 366,299 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth-largest ci ...

. He moved to Denver, Colorado to play youth hockey for Colorado Evolution for one season before travelling back to Belarus. He spent two seasons with the Belarus U17 team that played in the Vysshaya Liga, the second league in Belarus, before being selected 26th overall by the

in the 2018

CHL Import Draft The CHL Import Draft is an annual event in which every team in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) may select the rights to eligible import players. An import is classified as a player who does not have residency status in either Canada or the U ...

. He joined the Raiders for the 2018–19 season, and finished with 40 points in 61 games. Heading into the

Protas was the 30th ranked North American skater, and was selected 91st overall by the

. He played for Prince Albert in 2019–20 season, which was ended prematurely due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

; in 58 games he had 80 points, which placed him ninth in the WHL in scoring and the highest European player. For the 2020–21 season Protas was loaned to

HC Dinamo Minsk Hockey Club Dinamo Minsk (russian: Дина́мо-Минск; be, Дынама-Мінск, ''Dynama-Minsk'') is an ice hockey team based in Minsk, Belarus. They are members of the Tarasov Division of the Kontinental Hockey League. Dinamo has qu ...

of the

(KHL). He had 18 points in 58 games, and an additional 4 points in 5 playoff games. With Minsk's season over, Protas was re-assigned to the

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the c ...

, the Capitals'

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

affiliate. During the

2021–22 NHL season The 2021–22 NHL season was the 105th season of operation (104th season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league expanded to 32 teams with the addition of the Seattle Kraken. The league had an October-to-April regular season sche ...

, Protas was called up to the Capitals, and he scored his first career NHL goal on 28 November 2021, during a 4–2 victory over the

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...

. On 19 January 2024, Protas signed a five-year contract extension with the Capitals, carrying an average annual value of $3.375 million through the 2028–29 season.

Personal life

Protas' younger brother, Ilya, was drafted by the Capitals in the third round of the

2024 NHL Entry Draft The 2024 NHL Entry Draft will be the 62nd NHL Entry Draft. The draft is expected to be held in June 2024 in Las Vegas. Eligibility Ice hockey players born between January 1, 2004, and September 15, 2006, are eligible for selection in the 2024 N ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Protas, Alexei 2001 births Living people Belarusian ice hockey centres HC Dinamo Minsk players Hershey Bears players Sportspeople from Vitebsk Prince Albert Raiders players Washington Capitals draft picks Washington Capitals players