Spencer Carbery isn’t putting the Protas brothers in the same box.
That was the clear message from the Capitals coach as he broke down the early-season work of Aliaksei and Ilya Protas, stressing that the two are at very different stages even if they share a last name. Ilya, in Carbery’s view, is still being measured as a rookie finding his footing in a tough spot. Aliaksei, on the other hand, is the veteran sibling expected to provide more, even if the results have been uneven.
Carbery made it plain that he doesn’t think it’s fair to judge Ilya too harshly at this stage. The rookie centerman is still adjusting to the NHL while trying to contribute on a team that expects wins right away.
"This is hard. I know everybody's excited about him.
I'm excited about him, just like our fan base is, just like management is, just like everybody that sees the type of potential he has. But he's playing his first NHL season as a centerman that's playing on a team that is not rebuilding," Carbery said.
"Key point: not rebuilding, and expecting him to make all the right decisions and right plays on a winning team. It's not an easy scenario."
He continued by pointing out that even the encouraging signs from late last season don’t erase how much is being asked of him now.
"So, even though we saw great things at the end of last year, this is it's a lot for him, and he's working, and he's coachable, and he's trying to get better, and so I think he's been he's been solid given the circumstances. And to think that he was going to come in here and be a point a game and be lighting up the score sheet, I just think is completely unrealistic."
Ilya initially skated on a line with his brother out of camp, but after that group struggled to generate much, he moved on. He’s now lined up with Alex Ovechkin and Ivan Miroshnichenko, who entered the lineup in place of Ethen Frank while Pierre-Luc Dubois remains out with illness and the Capitals continue to shuffle lines.
Aliaksei’s start has been quieter. Through seven games, he has two assists and a minus-2 rating, and Carbery has already shifted him onto a line with Tom Wilson and Boone Jenner in hopes of getting more out of him offensively.
"I think playing with his brother for the first six games and trying to help him, just didn't feel like like the chemistry - and it's crazy to say that because they're brothers, and you go like the chemistry should be incredible there - but it just it wasn't. I don't feel like we were getting the most out of Big Pro, and whether it was line combination, whatever, so moving him, I thought he was good last game," Carbery said.
Even with the move, Carbery’s overall assessment of Aliaksei was straightforward: his game has been uneven, but there’s more there to unlock.
"I've liked parts of his game through the first (seven games). Do I think he's been the best version of Pro in the first seven games?
No. Do I think he's got more there?
Absolutely," Carbery said. "I think he's had some good games and some not so good games."
For now, that’s the split view from Washington’s bench: one brother still learning what NHL life really demands, the other trying to find the version of himself Carbery believes is waiting to show up.
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