The Washington Capitals have injury issues up the middle, and one player who could certainly help fix the team\u2019s current center depth problems would be Ilya Protas.<\/p>\n
The 19-year-old Belarusian pivot has excelled, posting unbelievable numbers early in his rookie AHL season. Currently, \u201cLittle Pro\u201d is on a six-game goal-scoring streak<\/a> and leads the Hershey Bears in both goals and points \u2014 something he didn\u2019t even believe possible coming into the year<\/a>.<\/p>\n Heading into their game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery was asked by the media if the team had considered promoting Ilya from the Bears and giving him his NHL debut.<\/p>\n \u201cLittle Pro comes up every day,\u201d Carbery said<\/a>. \u201cAnd it\u2019s not about him being called up; it\u2019s just us keeping tabs on Hershey, what\u2019s going on there, watching the highlights, reading the reports, having discussions after we watch some of the footage or hear some of the feedback from the coaches there, management, or scouts. I think the organization \u2014 I\u2019m not going to speak for (general manager) Chris (Patrick), but he\u2019s doing really, really well down there, so that\u2019s very exciting. You love to see that.<\/p>\n \u201cSo where your mind goes next is, \u2018Okay, when can he come up here and do those same types of things?\u2019 But I think it\u2019s just a matter of \u2013 young player doing very well in the American Hockey League, developing, from all accounts, production-wise, and everything that we\u2019re hearing from there is that he\u2019s doing a great job \u2014 so it\u2019s just continuing to develop and work at your game. The time will come.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite being a year younger than most prospects who turn pro (age 20), Protas has been given significant responsibility<\/a> by Bears\u2019 head coach Derek King. Protas has been a staple of the Bears\u2019 top six all season and plays in all situations \u2014 both on the power play and on the penalty kill. The Capitals\u2019 2024 third-round pick has rewarded that trust with 16 points (8g, 8a) in his first 17 games with the Bears.<\/p>\n At the NHL level, the Capitals are currently dealing with injuries to veteran centers Nic Dowd (upper body) and Pierre-Luc Dubois. Dubois will be lost for most of the season after undergoing major surgery<\/a>, while Dowd has missed the team\u2019s last six games<\/a>. Justin Sourdif, Connor McMichael, and Hendrix Lapierre have lined up in the bottom three center spots with those veteran players out.<\/p>\n The Capitals placed Nic Dowd on injured reserve on Wednesday and called up winger Bogdan Trineyev ahead of their game against the Jets<\/a>. Trineyev had been playing wing on Protas\u2019 line with the Bears.<\/p>\n