Capitals News
Capitals Loan Protas To Hershey To Make Room For Backstrom, Wilson
The Washington Capitals have loaned Aliaksei Protas to the AHL’s Hershey Bears to make room for Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson to return.
ARLINGTON, V.A. — With Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson set to make their season debuts on Sunday against the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Washington Capitals assigned Aliaksei Protas to the AHL's Hershey Bears to open up roster space.
Protas is waiver-exempt and could be re-assigned without having to go on the wire. The 6-6 forward will now get more ice time and continue to develop his game at the AHL level.
The Belarus native made the Capitals opening night roster after a stellar training camp. He played 41 games this season, putting up 10 points and playing the majority of the time on the fourth line with Nic Dowd and Garnet Hathaway.
However, with Backstrom and Wilson back, Protas would be one of the odd men out, and it would benefit him more to play and continue developing with Hershey rather than to remain a healthy scratch. He was scratched for Friday's game against the Nashville Predators, a 3-2 loss. Protas also turned 22 on Friday.
Washington has to make one more move to allow for Backstrom and Wilson to return, and the team also placed John Carlson on long-term injured reserve to open space. Waivers begin at 2 p.m. ET, so the next transaction will likely be announced then.
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