Natural hatty for his 50th goal, now second in the league in points.
W Ilya Protas - Windsor Spitfires, OHL (2024, 75th, WSH)
- Thread starter Pavel Buchnevich
- Start date
He might even be better than his brother.
and his brother is nuts
TRASHCAT
Registered User
DesmondDekker
Let's diddly go !
Protas is still available for the upcoming draft in my fantasy league. Where would you guys rank him if he were draft eligible in 2025!?
I think top 15 but I might need some extra input
I think top 15 but I might need some extra input
LeProspector
AINEC
- Feb 14, 2017
- 4,738
- 5,298
Pretty hard to say without knowing the other players available and your categories.
I'd probably go:
Chernyshov - really good opportunity moving forward
Protas - huge potential, but still a question mark
Greentree - similar to Protas, but in LA's system
Buchelnikov - great production but older
Koivenen - higher floor but doesn't really matter for fantasy
Wow... this post is aging like some awful 3rd part world country milk...
Ilya looks like an absolute superstar in the making, even better than his brother in the NHL. A Potential star duo in the making centered by Dylan Strome is a scary thought for oppositions.
In a redraft, he goes top 10 and potential top 5, no doubt in my mind.
The caps coach told aliaksei protas to work on his fitness and his shot in the offseason, and he did so with his little brother ilya. I don't know if he's a more natural goal scorer, but he's already benefiting from spencer carbery by way of his brother.
I actually feel it’s aging okay.
Get back to me when he plays like 65 NHL games and can’t stick in the league because he doesn’t have any special scoring skills and he’s a terrible skater.
People like you wanna do a victory parade because he’s beating up on future cooks and cleaners, but you’ll conveniently forget to show back up when he gets to an actual challenging level of hockey.
LeProspector
AINEC
- Feb 14, 2017
- 4,738
- 5,298
Gotta respect the double down of a take as bold as that.
- Feb 13, 2019
- 919
- 930
His production in his draft year simply wasn't on par with the league leaders (other draft eligible players). He was also seen as a very poor skater.
CapitalsCupReality
It’s Go Time!!
- Feb 27, 2002
- 64,262
- 18,927
lol double down indeed!
You still have him rated as a “terrible” skater?
Good thing for us at least, Caps have a solid history of significantly improving their prospects’ skating. Most of us want to see him jump to the AHL next year to cut his teeth there sooner rather than later.
PS - that was funny…
WarriorofTime
Registered User
- Jul 3, 2010
- 27,549
- 15,341
Saying that a take that him going in the third round pick is a "reach" is aging OK is ridiculous. Even if he becomes nothing in the NHL, he was certainly still at least least a decent pick in the third round based on his D+1.
Langway
In den Wolken
- Jul 7, 2006
- 32,226
- 8,828
Spitfires’ Ilya Protas named Cogeco OHL Player of the Week - Ontario Hockey League
Washington Capitals prospect Ilya Protas is the Cogeco OHL Player of the Week, recording 11 points over three games.
chl.ca
Acallabeth
Heart ablaze
I understand the skepticism about a 6'5 drafted player torching inferior kids, but to say Protas has no standout scoring skills when he's 2nd in the league scoring (just behind Misa who is just half a year younger and in contention for the #1 pick) seems unorthodox.
And I'm 100% sure Ilya will be hellbent on improving his weaker attributes with the example of his very successful brother having done that.
It's interesting that the Capitals may not have ended up with either Protas brother had they not taken Brett Leason with their 2nd round pick in 2019. They traded up to draft his teammate (Aliaksei) from Prince Albert (WHL) and of course ended up drafting Ilya in 2024. Leason was waived (ANA) but they ended up with both of the Protas brothers.
Castle8130
Registered User
- May 9, 2017
- 2,560
- 1,754
Someone save this for the worst take of all time in case Protas becomes a superstar
He has standout junior scoring skills. Pro hockey, and especially the NHL, is an entirely different level. I think when Nick Lardis is beating scoring records of Gretzky, Lindros, Gilmour, Tavares then you have to maybe recalculate what scoring in the OHL means this year.
Okay, then I'll tag you and rub it in your face when it doesn't happen.
I don't typically do that as the point of this website isn't to revisit takes in hindsight, but you asked for it.
Lardis is in his D+2 and he is far behind their point totals. He have scored a lot of goals of course. Tavares is still one ahead and Lardis is tied with Lindros with more game. He is also an overager while Lindros and Tavares was 16 and 17 so not really comparable. Overagers often beat out younger more talented players in scoring.
Gretzky himself was beaten by an overager in his 182 point junior season by 10 points from Bobby Smith. Who was 3 years older. Bobby Smith also had an succesful career. So an overager producing well doesnt really say anything about the level not being good or comparable to those years.
While Protas is only D+1 and is only 6 months older than a guy like Misa who is o. Of the top choices for this years draft. He is clearly a riser and would be pickee a lot earlier if the draft was today. So claiming he was picked to early is just stupidity. Of course he might not make the NHL, but bases on his current level of play he has a very good chance to make it.
Okay, so we can go to Sam Dickinson or Zayne Parekh or Michael Misa or Igor Chernyshov. Or Porter Martone. Or Matt Schaefer. Or Chase Reid. All these guys are putting up some of the best stats ever for whatever specific category in regards to DY and position and goals/PPG in OHL history. To me it's too many of them, and there's an underlying trend issue with the league that can't be ignored.
I don't think we'll be looking back on things in 10 years and being like "oh wow, that 2024-25 OHL season had so many of the future stars of the NHL."
We'll probably look back and be like "there were a normal amount of good OHL players, but scoring was crazy and not all of it translated."
Personally, I don't think it's crazy to be skeptical of the lower drafted guys that had major warts coming into the year that have all of a sudden found some great scoring form. The guys I would bet on are probably the guys not drafted that will leave the league as soon as they're drafted (or not long after), but even they I think you have to ask about if they're just piling points up against inferior competition and if it will all translate to the NHL.
