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Windsor Spitfires’ general manager Bill Bowler went big on Tuesday.
With the third overall pick in the Canadian Hockey League Import Draft, the Spitfires grabbed six-foot-five, 198-pound forward Ilya Protas.
“He’s just a real big, strong guy that uses his body to his advantage,” Bowler said. “He has some impressive playmaking ability for a guy that size.”
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The Washington Capitals actually made a trade with the New Jersey Devils to move up and select Protas, who is from Belarus, in the third-round of this year’s NHL Draft. His selection came three picks after the Chicago Blackhawks drafted Spitfires’ forward A.J. Spellacy.
The 17-year-old Protas might have played in the CHL a year ago, but players from Russia and Belarus were banned from selection due to the war with Ukraine. Tuesday’s draft marked the first time since 2021 that players from those two countries were again eligible to be selected.
Protas still got to North America last season and played in the United States Hockey League with the Des Moines Buccaneers.
“During last year, my advisor told me, ‘You have offer from Des Moines’ and I decided to go to North America because I have a great example in front of my eyes, my brother, had success in North America and I decided to go to Des Moines and had a great season,” Protas, who will turn 18 this moth, said during his media session at the NHL Draft about coming to North America.
His brother is six-foot-six, 225-pound Alexi Prtoas, who was a third-round pick by Washington in 2019 and played two seasons in the Western Hockey League with Prince Albert and is now playing in the NHL.
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“I just wanted to be in the same organization as my brother,” said the younger Protas, who is currently attending development camp with the Capitals.
The fact his brother played in the CHL could help the Spitfires in landing the big winger.
“Now, the job is to hopefully get him here in Windsor,” Bowler said. “The fact he’s been in North American for a year, speaks English and is acclimated to North America should make it an easy transition (to the OHL).”
Vlad Spektor, who serves as Protas’ advisor, seems confident he will land with the Spitfires next season.
“I expect him to play,” Spector said.
The addition of Protas would only enhance Windsor’s already staggering size up front for next season. The club could boast seven players that are six-foot-three or taller along with first-round pick Ethan Belchetz, who is six-foot-five, six-foot-three captain Liam Greentree, Spellacy, who is six-foot-three, former first-round pick Jack Nesbitt, who is six-foot-four, six-foot-three Owen Outwater and six-foot-six Ethan Martin.
“We’ll be physical,” Spitfires’ new head coach Greg Walters said of his team. “Bill and Frank (Evola, the team’s director of scouting and hockey operations) have put together a big, big junior team and we’ll use that to our advantage.”
In his first year in North America, Protoas showed he can bring more than just size to the ice and seemed to adjust well to the game. He posted 14 goals and 51 points in 61 games for Des Moines.
“He’s a guy we watched in the USHL,” Bowler said. “We couldn’t pass on this size and skill.”
jpparker@postmedia.com
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