I've watched a couple recent games of Ilya's to start getting a sense of what he could be at the NHL level one day.
And long story short, I like a lot of what Ilya Protas does, he's an excellent prospect. But right now a lot of the plays that he makes are "junior plays" that won't be there in the NHL, and he's also benefiting from a big physical advantage that he has over CHLers, which won't be possible to maintain to the same extent once he starts going up against NHLers and pros.
Don't miscontrue what I'm saying though. I still think that chances are good that Protas ends up being a very good player in the NHL one day, probably even better than his brother (and meaner/more physical too).
And the biggest signal to that potential is how Ilya Protas managed to completely revamp his skating in about a year-and-a-half of work.
That alone showed that he had the self-awareness and the work ethic necessary, alongside Protas' natural talent, to potentially make his mark in the NHL one day.
To be more clear, from the games I saw of him early in his draft year (early 2024) in the USHL I thought that, though he did flash some good skill, anticiplation, and some elite physical traits like his brother, Protas was a very poor skater by NHL standards, a weakness that could have made him a non-factor at the highest level if not corrected.
Think a more brainy, highly-skilled, better-conditioned Michael McCarron to get a sense of what I saw then.
But now, a year later, although Protas isn't fast by any stretch of the imagination, I'd say that his skating is still not great, but serviceable by NHL standards. And that's a massive improvement the extent of which can't be overstated.
That incredible progression, combined with his smarts, skill, and frame, could make Ilya Protas a very, very successful player for the Caps in the future. He could be a top-line player in the NHL one day if he continues his upward trajectory and improves a couple of facets of his game.
Anyways, the intent of this post wasn't to try and downplay what Ilya Protas is doing right now, and how incredibly well he's playing in the CHL. I just wanted to draw attention to the fact that right now there's just quite a bit of Protas' production in the CHL that is tied to an advantage that he won't have to the same extent in the NHL, and we should not hold unrealistic expectations for him going forward.
That's all, and cheers.
