The Capitals up-and-comer was given No. 59 at his first camp, but is finally picking his own number — and for a good reason.
ARLINGTON, V.A. -- Washington Capitals forward Aliaksei Protas is switching things up and has officially made a change to his number.
Protas will now wear 21, per the Capitals and NHL media site rosters. He had worn 59 with Washington for the last three years following his third-round selection in the 2019 NHL Draft after first being given the number at camp.
The Hockey News had originally reported an upcoming number change for the 6-foot-6 forward, as 2023 seventh-round pick Brett Hyland was given 59 at this year's development camp. Hyland never took the ice, though, due to knee surgery.
Protas wore 21 with the WHL's Prince Albert Raiders, and it was his original number before he made the move to the NHL. He wore No. 40 with the AHL's Hershey Bears, where he won the Calder Cup in 2022.
Over the last three and a half seasons, 21 had been occupied by Garnet Hathaway, who was traded to the Boston Bruins in February as part of the team's pre-trade deadline sell-off.
A number change means a lot for the Belarus native, who told The Athletic's Tarik El-Bashir that he would have to "earn" the opportunity to make a decision about his sweater number.
"Who am I to change it right now? Got to earn it," he said in December.
He's done just that, as he's expected to make the full-time NHL jump this season and is one of the prospects that general manager Brian MacLellan has praised and pencilled in as a roster player.
While he did have stints back with Hershey last season, he spent most of his time up in the NHL. In 58 games, he had four goals and 11 assists, all while showing improvement in several areas of his game. After the season ended, he returned to the Bears for the Calder Cup run and was one of the playoff MVP candidates, as he posted 13 points in 20 games en route to the title.
Training camp kicks off on Sept. 20, but informal skates have started at MedStar Capitals Iceplex.