The 22-year-old did a lot of growing up on and off the ice in 2022-23. He's ready to carry that over into next season and take a major step forward with the Capitals.
ARLINGTON, V.A. -- Aliaksei Protas remembers the moment his life changed: it came while he was sprinting through the corridors of the event level of Capital One Arena, making a beeline for the parking lot. He was just about to start gearing up for a Valentine's Day showdown with the Carolina Hurricanes when he got the call: his wife, Tanya, was in labor.
The game -- and everything else -- went out the window as he made it to the hospital in time to welcome his first child, a daughter named Alisa. That experience changed the 22-year-old's life -- and his perspective on it, too.
"Just unbelievable," Protas said with a smile.
The first month wasn't easy, though. The Capitals were set to be on the road for a lengthy stretch, and for Protas, it was difficult to be without his family. However, it gave him more inspiration and motivation to push himself forward; after welcoming his daughter to the world, lingering on bad days or bad moments became a thing of the past.
"Just to see her after a trip or after a bad day, nothing's better than that. Your bad day's like nothing basically when you see each other."
Months later, Protas hit another major milestone in his life, picking up 13 points in 20 games and making a major impact at both ends of the ice in the AHL postseason to lead the Hershey Bears to the 2023 Calder Cup.
Going into 2022-23, Protas is a new player, one that beams with confidence and has continued to prove his worth to the Capitals organization. General manager Brian MacLellan has him pencilled in on the roster for next season, and No. 59 is expected to stick around full-time.
For him, it's a big step forward and one that's paid off from years of hard work.
"Every game, that [confidence] keeps coming. I still got way more ahead of me and so much work to do, but I'm looking forward to it," Protas told The Hockey News this season, as locker stallmate Alex Alexeyev echoed in the background, "Experience, experience, experience."
"I think with the years; it's gonna keep coming. It's gonna get better," Protas added.
Teammate Alex Ovechkin also gave the 6-foot-6 forward some advice: to be "more brazen."
Protas said in a recent interview with Championat that the Capitals captain spoke with Protas 1-on-1 during the regular season, and Ovechkin told him that he needs to be "bolder" in his game to become successful at the highest level.
"Listening to Ovechkin, you trust him; you believe his words... you understand that you really need to be more brazen if you want to [accomplish] your dream. You don't have to be afraid of anything," Protas said, affirming.
And, as he looks ahead to training camp in September following a major year of growth, Protas is all in on living up to Ovechkin's advice and pushing himself forward.
"I'm ready to do it. Now I understand that there is no other way. It won't work out otherwise. I understood that somewhere I was let down by my [mentality in games]," Protas told Championat, alluding to a lack of physicality and some lost battles while up in the NHL. "It could have been bolder, more brazen. But you need to look at it in practice. You can say a lot in words, [but] it will be visible."