Big Pro+Little Pro

Belarusian hockey players conquer the NHL

All attention of hockey fans has been recently focused on events across the ocean, where NHL clubs have begun preparations for the new season and held their first pre-season matches. Among the key players are quite a few Belarusian guys, and the main heroes of last week were the graduates of the Vitebsk hockey school — brothers Aliaksei and Ilya Protas — who took to the ice together as part of the Washington Capitals.

Aliaksei and Ilya had never played together before, even at the youth level, since there is a five-year age difference between them, so their story turned out to be quite extraordinary and attracted attention not only in Belarus but also across the NHL. The club’s website referred to this moment as a ‘family event’. Both brothers found themselves in the spotlight of local journalists before the game against the Boston Bruins, and they had to sweat answering questions just as much as they would on the ice. “It is something we could not even dream of,” smiled Aliaksei, who is already a veteran in Washington — this will be his fourth season in the NHL. “Being on the same team [with my brother] is going to be something special. Ilya was waiting for this chance. For sure, you want to play your first game. It is going to be fun.”
With two Protases in the team, the Caps have resorted to nicknames to differentiate the pair: Little Pro and Big Pro. Ilya, who stands 195cm tall, does not mind being the ‘little one’, but offered the alternative name of ‘Hammer’ — a nickname coined by the Capitals Strength and Conditioning Coach, Zack Leddon. The 18-year-old debut maker has admitted that having Aliaksei around helps him a lot, but he still could not completely shake off the serious pre-match nerves. After the game against the Boston Bruins, Protas Jr. shared, “The NHL is a tough league. Everything is going very fast. It was tough for a couple of shifts, but then I started to adapt for the speed, for the game, and got more comfortable.”  
Prior to this, Ilya had spent only one season in the USA. He played in the USHL junior league, where he gained 51 points (14+37) in 61 matches, and is likely to spend this year in another youth league — the OHL, where he has a contract with the Windsor Spitfires. Aliaksei gave his younger brother simple advice, “Just enjoy it,” he told Ilya. “Work hard and enjoy it. This is really a special moment for us.” The Caps lost to Boston — 2:4. Ilya Protas had a ‘very solid night’ as the youngest player in Washington’s lineup, as reported by local newspapers. Little Pro skated 13:12 of ice time and was close to registering an assist, after which Big Pro launched a powerful shot that hit the crossbar late in the second period. It was a great debut, and there is no doubt that this is just the beginning: Aliaksei and Ilya Protas, like Andrei and Sergei Kostitsyn, will surely play many more NHL matches together, scoring goals thanks to each other’s assists.

Yegor Sharangovich — Belarusian hockey player — represents Calgary Flames, NHL 

Another trainee of the Vitebsk hockey school, forward Yegor Sidorov, is trying to establish himself in the Anaheim Ducks. The Belarusian guy has already played two pre-season matches for the Ducks and scored in both. Dmitry Kuzmin is working at the Winnipeg’s training camp, while Nikita Tolopilo and Danila Klimovich stay in the Vancouver Canucks team. Meanwhile, Artyom Levshunov, who was selected second overall by Chicago in the summer draft, remains sidelined due to a right foot injury. The condition of the Belarusian defenceman was reported by the Chicago Blackhawks’ general manager, Kyle Davidson, “If everything goes well, he can start skating soon. I think Artyom will be looking forward to that. He is around the facility. We even have to kick him out most days. He is super eager to go and is pretty disappointed with the situation. However, he is able to do a lot of other training, so it is not like he is sitting around, sedentary, doing nothing.” It is currently difficult to talk about Levshunov’s prospects in the NHL this season, whereas the chances of Vladislav Kolyachonok becoming one of the leaders in the Utah seem quite high: in the first pre-season match, his team defeated the St. Louis Blues (5:3), and the Belarusian hockey player took to the ice in the first defensive pair. We also keep in mind Ilya Solovyov and Yegor Sharangovich from the Calgary Flames. We expect the former to secure his place in the main lineup, and the latter to establish new scoring records. This year, there can be more Belarusians in the NHL than ever before.

By Sergei Kanashits