Aliaksei Protas Can He Continue this Pace

[trick9]

Big man got some Selke -votes.

Not enough, but he'll get there once other markets start to pay attention.

 

[Jags]

Will he ever get pp time?

They might gift him some in injury situations, but he'd have to develop a power play skill to crack the top unit. If he can up his deflection game, he'd be a candidate for the bumper spot. Quicker, precise passing might get him into the spot below the goal line. Mastering the unit could land him on the half wall, and he'd be an interesting option at the QB point.

Problem is we've got guys that excel at all those spots that he'd have to beat out. If he became a key zone entry guy that could definitely change things. Anyway, it doesn't look great for him getting A LOT of PP1 time, but he's certainly got the ability to fight for one of those roles. And if we completely redesign our PP (as we probably should) then he might easily get a spot.

 

[um]

They might gift him some in injury situations, but he'd have to develop a power play skill to crack the top unit. If he can up his deflection game, he'd be a candidate for the bumper spot. Quicker, precise passing might get him into the spot below the goal line. Mastering the unit could land him on the half wall, and he'd be an interesting option at the QB point.

Problem is we've got guys that excel at all those spots that he'd have to beat out. If he became a key zone entry guy that could definitely change things. Anyway, it doesn't look great for him getting A LOT of PP1 time, but he's certainly got the ability to fight for one of those roles. And if we completely redesign our PP (as we probably should) then he might easily get a spot.

Develop a powerplay skill? He led the team in even-strength points. He's been ready, already!

He's fantastic along the boards, great at zone entries, has a good and quick shot, is a good playmaker, and is big as fudge. He should be on the powerplay, easily.

Maybe I'm just a big fan, but he was our best forward last year. You should use your best players.

But hey, net front Chychrun was such a great success, I guess there were no spots for big Pro.

 

[Jags]

Develop a powerplay skill? He led the team in even-strength points

Absolutely, but that makes him an ideal even strength player, and we're talking about the man advantage.

Being strong along the boards is nice, but keepaway is better on the power play.

A good, quick shot is great to have in that bumper spot and as they rotate positions, but you need a standout deflection guy in that spot, too, to give your point shots more teeth.

He is a good playmaker and could excel in those two spots in our PP, but is he better than the guys there already?

And his zone-entry game is fine, but we haven't really seen it in a power play setting, when the other team stacks up at the blue line. Given our struggles with this, if Protas was excellent at it in practice, he'd be PP1 already.

So yes, he needs to make himself undeniable at one of those power play skills; to beat out the guys already in those spots. If he was doing that in practice, he'd be on the unit already. No one's interested in holding him back. Everyone's a big fan.

Stamina could also be a factor. He's already getting big 5v5 and PK minutes and there's no question he's a major standout in both of those situations. Could be they're just keeping him primed for when and where they need him most.

Whatever the reason(s), they'd only keep him off PP1 if they felt he wasn't their best option in those spots.

 

[HTFN]

Absolutely, but that makes him an ideal even strength player, and we're talking about the man advantage.

Being strong along the boards is nice, but keepaway is better on the power play.

A good, quick shot is great to have in that bumper spot and as they rotate positions, but you need a standout deflection guy in that spot, too, to give your point shots more teeth.

He is a good playmaker and could excel in those two spots in our PP, but is he better than the guys there already?

And his zone-entry game is fine, but we haven't really seen it in a power play setting, when the other team stacks up at the blue line. Given our struggles with this, if Protas was excellent at it in practice, he'd be PP1 already.

So yes, he needs to make himself undeniable at one of those power play skills; to beat out the guys already in those spots. If he was doing that in practice, he'd be on the unit already. No one's interested in holding him back. Everyone's a big fan.

Stamina could also be a factor. He's already getting big 5v5 and PK minutes and there's no question he's a major standout in both of those situations. Could be they're just keeping him primed for when and where they need him most.

Whatever the reason(s), they'd only keep him off PP1 if they felt he wasn't their best option in those spots.

He's f***ing enormous, keep away is why he's good at even strength. Guy puck handles like he's fending off middle school children.

The idea that he would be there if he earned it is kind of just... not true to my eyes, nor is it something we see bear out in past years or league-wide. I don't think it's a direct calculation between the players on the unit so much as weighing the value another PP player can give with the advantage compared to Protas taking regular shifts there instead of using his ability to tilt the ice directly after the man advantage. You make mention of this but I think you undersell how likely it is to be true. Protas could be 10% better than an individual on PP1 and, whatever, 40% better at even strength, which makes an ES deployment a bit of a no-brainer.

I'm sorry but there's virtually no way the coaches on this team went all year thinking he's not one of their best five skaters or worth powerplay time. If that's true without any additional personnel factors I would go so far as to suggest that it's demonstrating moderate incompetence and still hardly a valid appeal to authority.

 

[Jags]

'm sorry but there's virtually no way the coaches on this team went all year thinking he's not one of their best five skaters or worth powerplay time.

I was with you up to this point. Your best 5 skaters don't always comprise your power play unit. There's an alchemy at play in that selection process that I've already broken down twice.

You mention that I referenced the single point you were making, but this isn't about any one, single point. It's a combination of factors, many of which I've already outlined.

The fact remains that if he were ideal for one of those 5 spots, it would be his. The Caps coaches want to crush the power play like every other coach on the planet.

I'm not privy to that selection process. We don't know why he's not on that unit, but I highly doubt it's because he's overlooked, nor does it boil down to any single factor. Your point about preferred deployments is obviously key, but we have guys that play in all 3 situations. So if it were all about that, he'd likely be getting more PP time already.

So no, it's not that clear cut. It's a combination of things. My replies here were just breaking down the simplest and most obvious possibilities to those asking (in a couple current threads) if he's likely to get PP1 minutes and/or why he hasn't already.

 

[HTFN]

I was with you up to this point. Your best 5 skaters don't always comprise your power play unit. There's an alchemy at play in that selection process that I've already broken down twice.

You mention that I referenced the single point you were making, but this isn't about any one, single point. It's a combination of factors, many of which I've already outlined.

The fact remains that if he were ideal for one of those 5 spots, it would be his. The Caps coaches want to crush the power play like every other coach on the planet.

I'm not privy to that selection process. We don't know why he's not on that unit, but I highly doubt it's because he's overlooked, nor does it boil down to any single factor. Your point about preferred deployments is obviously key, but we have guys that play in all 3 situations. So if it were all about that, he'd likely be getting more PP time already.

So no, it's not that clear cut. It's a combination of things. My replies here were just breaking down the simplest and most obvious possibilities to those asking (in a couple current threads) if he's likely to get PP1 minutes and/or why he hasn't already.

It's simplified for the sake of the argument but I think you take the greater meaning just fine, I don't think he miraculously becomes worse as a player when playing with a man advantage and he's one of the best players on the team. There is a role on that powerplay that he could likely fill without a dip in quality, if not make entirely his own based on his unique toolbox.

I think you're leaning a little too hard into the notion that he fails to match the chemistry of the PP unit. The way you approach the theoretical shortcomings of the player even though they don't line up with what we see him do (keep away? really?) and then conclude that he'd be on the PP if he were the best fit leaves a lot to be desired.

 

[Fred22406Capsfan]

Can't but believe he has more upside. Broke out this year, build on it in 25-26.

 

[Jags]

I think you're leaning a little too hard into the notion that he fails to match the chemistry of the PP unit.

I never once mentioned any shortcomings. I think he's a fantastic player, but not every guy is suited to every thing.

Tom Wilson's deflection game is tight. He's really good at it, always has been. Makes him ideal for that spot. This doesn't mean that Protas sucks at it, just that there's another big body that's better than him at that thing.

Protas moves and distributes the puck well, but is he a better facilitator than the guys we have on the half wall and below the goal line? Is he as shifty as they are in quick bursts? No. Doesn't mean he's bad at those things, just that there's other guys the coaches feel fit better.

Might he be an interesting option at the right point? Sure. I don't see why not. Better than the guys we have there? Probably not.

Our power play isn't very dynamic. The roles are clearly defined. If Protas was the best guy for any of those spots, he'd be PP1. These are not shortcomings for him at all. As we've both pointed out, a major factor might be how they want to deploy him otherwise. And maybe there's a flaw in that logic. Maybe it's all on the coaches and he's the best man advantage player to ever live.

My point is that there's a shit-ton of factors that go into it, I don't believe the coaches are overlooking him in a boneheaded way, and there's no reason to think he hasn't had his chances to crack that unit.

But if you want to distill it down to the simplest and most obvious statement: He's not on PP1 because the coaches haven't wanted him there. All we can do is guess why. All I'm doing is laying out lots of the stuff that goes into it so that it's not just a dismissive conversation about coaching stupidity and incompetence.

 

[um]

Absolutely, but that makes him an ideal even strength player, and we're talking about the man advantage.

Being strong along the boards is nice, but keepaway is better on the power play.

A good, quick shot is great to have in that bumper spot and as they rotate positions, but you need a standout deflection guy in that spot, too, to give your point shots more teeth.

He is a good playmaker and could excel in those two spots in our PP, but is he better than the guys there already?

And his zone-entry game is fine, but we haven't really seen it in a power play setting, when the other team stacks up at the blue line. Given our struggles with this, if Protas was excellent at it in practice, he'd be PP1 already.

So yes, he needs to make himself undeniable at one of those power play skills; to beat out the guys already in those spots. If he was doing that in practice, he'd be on the unit already. No one's interested in holding him back. Everyone's a big fan.

Stamina could also be a factor. He's already getting big 5v5 and PK minutes and there's no question he's a major standout in both of those situations. Could be they're just keeping him primed for when and where they need him most.

Whatever the reason(s), they'd only keep him off PP1 if they felt he wasn't their best option in those spots.

I think you’re overrating our PP unit. We had the 13th best power play in the season, and the 13th best in the playoffs.

We don’t have a good enough power play. And to sit a more talented and smarter player all season long was ridiculous. It was a decision made in training camp/preseason, and it was never updated after Protas dominated and was our best forward.

Protas was 11th In PPTOI per game… 11th! He was behind Ryan Leonard for heavens sake!

I’m sorry man but there were not 10 better PP options than Protas on this team. That is just a huge load of bologna.

 

[usiel]

Well since it looks like the last season for AO after this season will be looking probably more balanced PP time between the one and two squads I would assume at this point.

 

[alphabetical]

I think you’re overrating our PP unit. We had the 13th best power play in the season, and the 13th best in the playoffs.

We don’t have a good enough power play. And to sit a more talented and smarter player all season long was ridiculous. It was a decision made in training camp/preseason, and it was never updated after Protas dominated and was our best forward.

Protas was 11th In PPTOI per game… 11th! He was behind Ryan Leonard for heavens sake!

I’m sorry man but there were not 10 better PP options than Protas on this team. That is just a huge load of bologna.

This is the big hangup for me as well - the caps powerplay was not good this year. It needs to be revamped, and including the most talented players is a good start. Put Protas below the goal line and let his long reach surprise everyone with passes and shots.

 

[um]

This is the big hangup for me as well - the caps powerplay was not good this year. It needs to be revamped, and including the most talented players is a good start. Put Protas below the goal line and let his long reach surprise everyone with passes and shots.

Hell yea. Protas can also dominate along the boards and at zone entries.

 

[Jags]

I think you’re overrating our PP unit. I’m sorry man but there were not 10 better PP options than Protas on this team. That is just a huge load of bologna.

lol, I swear it's like I'm talking into the void...

*I* think our PP design is terrible and has needed an overhaul for years. *I* never said Protas was our 11th best anything.

What *I* have been saying is that OUR COACHES don't appear to want Protas on the top power play unit. I'm responding to posts asking "Will Protas get more PP time?" and "Why isn't he on the PP?" and comments saying how insane it is, as if it's just a huge error in coaching.

And I'll remind you that I'm one of the few saying that our coaching was pretty terrible in the playoffs; not just laying off all the blame on the players and team design.

Now you can go back and actually read my posts from today in this thread and plainly see that I never rated our PP unit at all. Nor did I say that there are 10 better options than Protas for our power play.

What I DID say was...

1) Protas isn't on PP1 because the coaches clearly don't want him there. This we know, because if they did want him there, he'd be there.

2) Our power play is not dynamic. Each role is clearly defined. Then I went through each role and speculated as to why Protas might not be the best fit.

3) Aside from the requisite skills for those roles, there's also other reasons he might not be there, including maximizing his production in the crucial roles he already plays (5v5, PK) and managing his overall minutes.

4) That all we can do is speculate because we have no inside information, but that I didn't personally feel that our coaching staff is just inept; that they probably have justifications they believe in very much.

For the record, I've grown to hate our power play setup. It was designed around talent we no longer have, and is archaic in how static it is -- no one f***ing MOVES.

Damn near everyone else's PP has players shifting all over the place, working hard to create the open lane that can always be created because of the man advantage. 4 of our 5 guys move like they're on a foosball table -- each can move a little bit this way and a little bit that way. And the 5th guy rarely moves at all.

Little variations here and there after we've gone 0-for-3 on the night, and we appear committed to it because occasionally Ovi defies the odds of a sputtering power play by just willing one in.

So yeah, I don't know why they're still doing it, and wish they would change it. But in the meantime it is what it is, and the roles are what they are, so it's pretty easy to see why Protas might not fit.

 

[EXTRAS]

I mean he had 8 seconds per game on the powerplay last season and still was 3rd on the team in scoring. Surely he will get a consistent spot on pp2 at minimum next year. Can't be 7 or 8 guys they trust to score more.

Strome
Ovi
Dubois
Wilson
Mcmichael

You can't tell me there are 2 more fwds who deserve pp time more than protas after that group.

 

[Corby78]

Well since it looks like the last season for AO after this season will be looking probably more balanced PP time between the one and two squads I would assume at this point.

Agreed, I would love to see Ovie take a seat the second 60 seconds of a pp, and let PP2 be something completely different. Two different looks should make it harder to defend. Also will start developing a pp post 8.