ARLINGTON, VA — Hockey players are no stranger to bridging the language gap. With more than a dozen countries represented across the NHL, learning English is often a vital part of adjusting to the league. But for Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson, the flow of knowledge is going the other way.

Thompson has started to pick up some Russian, enlisting Aliaksei Protas as a tutor. Protas, who hails from from Vitebsk, Belarus, was all to happy to oblige.

“We do little lessons when I can,” Thompson told RMNB. “Teach me little things.”

The Capitals once had a sizable Russian-speaking contingent, with five players on the team as recently as 2023. But after the departures of Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dmitry Orlov, and Alex Alexeyev, Protas and Alex Ovechkin are the only two left.

Thompson, who the Capitals acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights last summer, was the one to initiate the Russian lessons.

“He just started to ask questions and some simple stuff,” Protas said. “And just for fun, he’s asking sometimes something. He forgets it maybe 10 seconds after, but he’s trying.”

The two have become close friends during Thompson’s Capitals tenure. Their relationship dates all the way back to 2019, when they were roommates at the team’s annual development camp. When the Capitals acquired Thompson at the 2024 NHL Draft, Protas was one of the first players to welcome him — the news broke shortly before Thompson held an autograph session, and Protas popped in to say hello.

Now, they sit side-by-side in the Capitals’ locker room, and their friendship is obvious even to an outside observer. Thompson has been known to prank Protas during his media scrums, whether posing as a reporter or throwing towels to distract him during an interview. He also regularly tags along with Protas and Ovechkin for meals on the road.

Both players were essential to Washington’s on-ice success last season. Protas, who had a previous career high of 6 goals, quintupled that record and put up a monster 66-point (30g, 36a) performance in 76 games. Thompson, meanwhile, established himself not only as the Capitals’ starter but as one of the league’s elite goaltenders, posting a 2.49 goals-against average, a .910 save percentage, and a fourth-place Vezina Trophy finish.

But as impressive as Thompson’s talents on the ice, Protas didn’t hold back when asked about his language skills.

“He’s trying, but I’ve got to be honest — he’s terrible,” he said. “Hold each other accountable.”

Though his Russian seems to be good enough for locker-room conversations, Thompson ultimately agreed with Protas’ assessment.

“I can’t even remember (what I’ve learned),” he said. “Just the swear words.”

Aliaksei’s brother Ilya, now with the Hershey Bears, got to see the pair’s dynamic this fall when he came to Washington for training camp. He told RMNB that the lack of a shared native tongue hadn’t held the two of them back.

“What I see from my standpoint, I think they’re really close friends,” he said. “Even (if) it’s not the same language, different countries, it doesn’t matter. They’re really close, and I think you see how they’re having fun in the practices, and outside of the rink…it’s pretty fun to watch.

Ilya, too, had heard about the Russian lessons, and without the incentive of chirping his friend to a reporter, he offered a somewhat rosier picture of Thompson’s skills.

“(Aliaksei said) he picked it up quickly,” Ilya said. “And he knows some things. He was telling me actually some things, when I was up there in the camp, and yeah, he knows some stuff, but I’m pretty sure it’s swear words, most of them.”

Though Thompson’s the newest player to the language, he’s not the first North American Capitals player to learn Russian. Aliaksei was surprised to learn just how much Quebec native Pierre-Luc Dubois had picked up over the years.

“Pierre-Luc Dubois is low-key maybe — I was so surprised how much he knows in Russian, actually,” Protas said. “That was crazy, when he started to talk to me, some things he knows, I was shocked.”

While Thompson’s been a relatively recent student, Dubois’ Russian-language experience dates back to his time in juniors, when he was teammates with Maxim Lazarev and Evgeny Svechnikov on the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. He and Lazarev were road roommates, and Lazarev insisted he follow along with Russian media.

“He’d make me watch Russian shows with him, listen to Russian music,” he said. “And I liked it. I like languages. So yeah, they taught me a few things.”

Dubois then got even more practice in the NHL, playing alongside teammates like Artemi Panarin, Sergei Bobrovsky and Vladislav Gavrikov during his time with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

“I’ve played with Russians pretty much all my career since 16 years old,” he said. “So you pick up a few things.”

Dubois, a native French speaker who has also picked up on some Italian from Duolingo and TV shows, noted that being a polyglot has given him an unexpected leg up around players who assume he can’t understand them.

“It’s something I have in my bag, that I just wait to play with Russians to surprise them,” he said. “It’s helped me a few times. Sometimes I know what they’re talking about…surprisingly, I’ve used it to my advantage at times.”

Now Thompson, like Dubois, can add another surprise weapon to his arsenal.