If the hockey thing doesn’t work out, Aliaksei and Ilya Protas may have a spot on the Belarusian national football team waiting for them.
The Pro Bros visited their home country’s national soccer team earlier this week, trading sticks for jerseys and testing out their athletic abilities off the ice.
Aliaksei and Ilya attended the squad’s first June training session, and met up with midfielder Max Ebong, defender Kirill Pechenin, and head coach Viktor Hancharenko. They were gifted their own custom kits and returned the favor by handing out signed sticks.
The Capitals’ forwards also tested their penalty kick abilities, facing off against goalkeeper Mikhail Kozakevich.
The Protas brothers came out on top, scoring on six of the their 10 attempts. Ilya struggled slightly, going two for five. Aliaksei found nylon on four of his attempts, showing off some goal celebrations as well.
When asked if it weren’t for hockey, then what they would do in real life, both brothers responded with “football,” per the national team’s Instagram account and a translation via Google Translate.
The meetup comes a little over a week before the 2026 World Cup begins in North America. Belarus did not qualify.
The encounter appears to have been set up by Betera, a Belarusian betting site and online casino. Aliaksei and Ilya are ambassadors for the company, while Betera is a sponsor of the Belarusian national football team.
The Protas brothers attended another event with Betera earlier in the week, acting as special guests at an IIHF World Championship watch party at Heroes Playbar. They met and talked with fans, signed autographs, and posed for photos ahead of puck drop.