Looking back at the draft weekend, the Washington Capitals may have found some chemistry in the future. Brett Leason and Alexei Protas know each other all too well.
The Washington not only selected Brett Leason in the second round of the draft but traded up for his teammate Alexei Protas late in the same round.
The other rarity was this draft trade came from within the Metropolitan Division with a New Jersey Devils team that looks strong for next season with both the Jack Hughes top draft pick and the trade for P.K. Subban.
Think of Leason and Protas as a future Alex Ovechkin–Nicklas Backstrom pair not just from the lineup but the inseparable chemistry they could have.
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Leading the Prince Albert Raiders of the WHL to a first place finish in the East Division with a 54-10-2 record, Leason led the team in the regular season with 53 assists and 89 points. He was also second in goals with 36 and played in 55 games.
Protas appeared in 61 games and had a 40-point season with 11 goals and 29 assists. The 18-year old center also had a 47.7% success-rate on the face-off dot.
In the playoffs Leason led the Raiders with 25 points and 15 assists and was one of four players who notched double digit goals with 10. Protas’ numbers also improved to fourth on the team in scoring with 22 points, tied for third in assists with 10 and was third in goals with 12.
In the first round against the Red Deer Rebels Leason had the secondary assist on Protas opening goal of Game 2 en route to a 6-4 win. In Game 4, Leason scored twice including an insurance goal on the power play for a 4-1 win to seal the series sweep.
In Prince Albert’s second round series the duo connected when their team needed them the most. Going up 2-0 on the Saskatoon Blades, the Raiders dropped the next two games.
In a pivotal Game 5, the pair connected for the fourth goal in a 6-1 rout with Protas scoring the game’s fourth goal. In the Game 6 clincher to get to the third round, the duo connected once more on the power play on another tally for Protas in a 6-3 win.
In the third round vs. the Edmonton Oil Kings the Protas-Leason duo became more dynamic. This was shown in Games 5 and 6 when Protas had back-to-back hat tricks to help punch the Raiders ticket to the Ed Chynoweth Cup Final.
In Game 5, it was that duo alone in the scoring department in the 4-2 win. Leason assisted on the second goal from Protas, while scoring a goal of his own- the third of the game. In Game 6, Leason assisted on Protas third goal for the cherry on top of another 4-2 victory.
In the finals, the pair connected a total of four times including a big goal in the fourth game that was the difference in a 1-0 road win. Leason had the game-winning goal at 4:21 in the third period and it gave the Raiders a commanding 3-1 lead they almost relinquished. In the winner-take-all Game 7, Dante Hannoun scored in overtime to secure the Ed Chynoweth Cup for Prince Albert. It was their first Cup in 34 years.
Leason and Protas connected for a total of eight times in the postseason. It is this experience on the big stage that could help the two down the road as they currently honed their craft this week at MedStar Capitals Iceplex in Development Camp.
Protas will likely be back with Prince Albert this upcoming season for more WHL experience while Leason is anticipated to begin the autumn up in Hershey. There’s no doubt the two will be reunited once more as the Bears look to return to Calder Cup glory.
Imagine them being a big part of a Calder Cup run up in Hershey and in a few years getting to share the biggest stage in “America’s Hockey Capital”. That vision could come to fruition in a couple years.