The Washington Capitals made some roster moves with just under two hours before their game tonight against the Florida Panthers. After Nic Dowd told reporters that he was good to go, the team activated him from Injured Reserve. They had to make a corresponding move and that move was to re-assign Aliaksei Protas to the Hershey Bears.
Dowd had a lower body injury and missed three of the last four games. He has a goal in six games so far this season while averaging 13:43 minutes of ice time with a plus/minus of +2. He’s also won 59.5 percent of his face off draws and is an important part of the penalty kill.
Protas made his NHL debut on Monday night in Tampa Bay against the Lightning. Prior to his recall, the 20 year old recorded four points in six games with Hershey with a goal and three assists.
The six foot six, 225 pound center recorded 18 points with 10 goals and eight assists in 58 regular season games with Dinamo Minsk during the 2020-21 season. The Vitebsk, Belarus, native tied for fifth on the team in goals and tied for eighth in points, despite ranking 15th in time on ice per game (12:52) among Dinamo Minsk skaters with at least 30 games played.
Protas then got re-assigned to Hershey on March 18 and made his AHL debut on March 31. He recorded seven points in 16 games with the Bears with two goals and five assists. Additionally, Protas represented Belarus at the 2021 IIHF World Championship, recording two assists in six games.
Protas would finish the 2019-20 season with 80 points with 31 goals and 49 assists in 58 games and ranked ninth in the WHL in points. He became the third European player in Prince Albert history to record 80 points joining Leon Draisaitl and Milan Kraft. He also led Prince Albert in goals, assists, points, plus/minus (37) and game winning goals (7) while accumulating just eight penalty minutes which was the fewest among the league’s top 50 scorers.
Head coach Peter Laviolette discusses Ilya Samsonov getting the nod in net and the return of Nic Dowd ahead of tonight's puck drop in Florida.#CapsCats | @socios pic.twitter.com/aFgdjsJ1uW
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) November 4, 2021
Protas would be selected to the WHL’s Eastern Conference First All Star Team and was named the WHL Eastern Conference Most Sportsmanlike Player of the Year. Protas was selected in the third round at 91st overall in the 2019 NHL Draft and people call him “The Viper.”
Dowd was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice. The team didn’t have a morning skate but Peter Laviolette just talked to the media not too long ago and said Dowd is in. He also noted that Ilya Samsonov will get the start in goal. Dowd will be back in his familiar spot on the fourth line with Carl Hagelin and fellow podcast bro Garnet Hathaway.