Ilya Protas had some special guests in the stands for his final game before the AHL All-Star Break.<\/p>\n
A day after the NHL\u2019s stoppage for the 2026 Winter Olympics began, Aliaksei Protas<\/a>, Ilya\u2019s older brother, traveled over 100 miles north to Giant Center for the Hershey Bears\u2019 matchup against the Wilkes-Barre\/Scranton Penguins. Big Pro was joined at the game by his wife, Tanya, and his daughter, Alisa. <\/p>\n Ilya made sure to have a game they wouldn\u2019t forget, either. Seven minutes and 57 seconds into the first period, Ilya sent a huge shot from the top of the circles past Penguins goaltender Sergei Murashov<\/a> on the power play. The goal, his team-leading 18th of the season, narrowed the Penguins\u2019 early lead to 2-1.<\/p>\n To celebrate, Protas bent down and pumped his fist before hugging his teammates. Then he did something else.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not sure if you guys noticed that point from Little Pro that was to Big Pro, who was in the building tonight,\u201d FOX 43\u2019s Todd Sadowski observed. \u201cHe pointed up to the suite where Aliaksei Protas<\/a> is standing, and for his big bro, that was a big shot there.\u201d<\/p>\n Shortly after, the Bears introduced Aliaksei to the crowd along with two other Calder Cup champion players, Garrett Roe and Clay Stevenson<\/a>. (Stevenson is still technically on the Capitals\u2019 roster due to the NHL requirement that two healthy goaltenders must be on a team\u2019s 23-man active roster at all times<\/a>. At some point, he may be \u201creturned\u201d to Hershey in exchange for Garin Bjorklund<\/a> so that he can play during the Olympic break.)<\/p>\n Ilya later assisted on an Ivan Miroshnichenko<\/a> goal in the second period, marking the 11th multi-point game of his rookie season. He has 37 points (18g, 19a) in 44 games, second-most among all AHL rookies.<\/p>\n