Former Prince Albert Raider Aliaksei Protas is having a breakout season in his fourth year with the Washington Capitals. (Lucas Chudleigh/Apollo Multimedia)

By Nick Nielsen

One of the NHL's best 5v5

Former Raider Protas having breakout year

Feb 25, 2025 | 4:29 PM

A former Prince Albert Raider is having a potential breakout season in the NHL this year. In his fourth season in the NHL with the Washington Capitals and Belarusian Aliaksei Protas has more points in this season alone than he did in his first three years in the league combined.

This season, Protas has become a bit of a breakout star with the Capitals. At the time of this writing, he’s managed 23G-27A-50P in just 57 games played. In his first three seasons in the NHL, Protas played in 169 games where he managed 13G-40A-53P.

When asked about how his mindset has changed this year, Protas said that he took a look at his game tape over the summer and found a necessary change to his game that has brought him success.

“I think (this year) I just looked at the game a little different and just I watched my game the last couple years. Just watching the chances I had, I knew if I want to score, I gotta be more around the net, just being a net presence. Especially being as big guy, I gotta be there and I started to take advantage more of it just being there and waiting for my chances. Thanks to the teammates, they’re making great plays for me to be there and I’m trying to do the same for them. I think it’s more like a confidence thing going forward. As soon as you’re scoring goals, you start to feel better.”

Protas’ 50 points on the year have him in the top 50 in scoring in the NHL, but that’s without very much powerplay time. This season, 47 of Protas’ 50 points so far have come while at even strength, which has him in the top eight in the NHL even strength scoring. In layman’s terms, that means Protas is scoring more than almost the entire NHL while not getting much time on the powerplay – where scoring is easier – compared to his peers.

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Protas had a similar jump in numbers during his time with the Raiders. In his first season in the WHL, Protas posted 40 points in 61 games that year. The next year, as a 19-year-old and wearing an ‘A’ on his sweater, Protas posted 80 points with the Raiders. This year in the NHL, Protas is on pace for 72 points by the end of the season, which would more than double his career high 29 points from last year.

For him, there is a similar feeling between figuring out how his game fit into the WHL that second season he was here in Prince Albert to the feeling he has figuring out how his game fits into the NHL during his fourth season.

“As soon as you get more experience, more playing time, for sure you see the game a little more and you understand the game a little more. As the games go on you just get more confidence, as soon as you start getting points, scoring goals, for sure comes the confidence and even all those little aspects of the game like defence, playing without the puck. It’s really important thinking the system of our game and the beauty of the league is like every game, you learn something new. You could be better off, you could do better and you just next game you try to get better at those things and something new pops up. You know, like you got to be better at something else.”

Even though he hasn’t spent a ton of time on the powerplay this year, Protas has still had the chance to spend a lot of time on the ice with Alexander Ovechkin, who is currently on pace to beat Wayne Gretzky’s goal scoring record of 894. Ovechkin has 29 goals this season and Protas has assists on nine of them this year. When asked about the potential of having an assist on goal 895 that sets Ovechkin alone with that record, Protas said he wasn’t ready to talk about that until it happens. What he would say is how incredible it has been to learn and play with one of his idols.

“It still feels unbelievable for me a little bit and just being like his teammate, being around him, playing on the same line, yeah it’s something you couldn’t even dream of. I just try to take advantage of it and just have fun playing with him and just watch him like the way he prepares for the games, the way he plays the game, it’s just something special. He’s chasing one of the records that also seemed like unbelievable to chase, but he is getting closer to it and yes, he’s just he’s a legend of this game, one of the best scorers in the history of the league, and hopefully he’ll get there. I just wish him like all the best.”

Protas is in his fifth season of professional hockey after spending his first season with the Hershey Bears in the AHL along with some time in the KHL. Since then, Protas has found a regular spot with the Capitals and is on the first year of a five year deal worth over $3.3 million per season.

“I got so much work ahead of me. I gotta stay consistent with it. I gotta prove that it’s not like an accident, and it’s just I want to be this type of player. Just like keep learning every, every game, every year and just get better.”