Dylan McIlrath (born April 20, 1992) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...

and captain currently playing for the

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg. The current Bears club has played in the American Hockey League since the 1938–39 season maki ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

(AHL) while under contract to the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). He played

junior hockey Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

for the

Moose Jaw Warriors The Moose Jaw Warriors are a major junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League based in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. The Warriors play in the East Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at Moose Jaw Events Centre ...

of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

(WHL) and was drafted by the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

, 10th overall at the

2010 NHL Entry Draft The 2010 NHL Entry Draft was the 48th NHL Entry Draft, held on June 25–26, 2010 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, home arena of the Los Angeles Kings. This was the first time Los Angeles hosted the NHL Entry Draft. An unofficial re ...

. McIlrath is of majority Scottish descent.

Playing career

Junior

McIlrath was drafted into the

(WHL) 46th overall by the

in the 2007 Bantam Draft. He started his WHL career with the Warriors during the 2008–09 season, playing in 53 games and scoring one goal. In 2009–10, McIlrath improved, along with the Warriors as a whole, and scored seven goals while playing in 65 games. He attracted notice from professional scouts due to his NHL draft eligibility, and was selected to play for Team Orr at the 2010

CHL Top Prospects Game The CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game is an annual event in which forty of the top NHL Entry Draft eligible prospects in the Canadian Hockey League play against each other in an all-star game environment. Players are able to boost their draft ranking w ...

. The highlight of this game for McIlrath was a convincing victory in a fight against Team Cherry's

Alexander Petrovic Alexander Petrovic (born March 3, 1992) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently playing for the Texas Stars in the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

. During the Warriors' seven-game playoff series against the eventual WHL champions, the

Calgary Hitmen The Calgary Hitmen are a major junior ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The Hitmen play in the Central Division of the Western Hockey League (WHL). They play their home games at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Bret "The Hitman" ...

, McIlrath played every game and recorded an assist. DylanMcIlrath

Professional

On March 17, 2011, McIlrath signed his first NHL contract with the

, the team that drafted him tenth overall in 2010. He played two regular season games at the end of the 2010–11 season with the Rangers'

(AHL) affiliate, the Connecticut Whale, in which he did not register a point but accumulated seven penalty minutes. After Moose Jaw was eliminated from the WHL playoffs at the end of the 2011–12 season, McIlrath once again joined the Whale. After Connecticut was eliminated from the AHL playoffs, McIlrath was added to the New York Rangers' 2012 playoff roster. After spending the 2012–13 season in Connecticut, McIlrath was again added to the Rangers'

playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

roster. On December 11, 2013, he was recalled to the Rangers for the first time during the NHL regular season. He made his NHL debut on December 12, 2013, against the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ...

. After a strong pre-season showing, McIlrath was named to the full 23-man roster on October 2, 2015, and on December 15, 2015, he scored his first NHL goal. McIlrath played a total of 34 games for the Rangers in the 2015–16 season, scoring 2 goals and 2 assists, and accumulating 64 penalty minutes. His most notable fight of the season was on Valentine's Day against

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Well ...

forward

Wayne Simmonds Wayne Simmonds (born August 26, 1988) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). Simmonds has previously played for the Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, Nashville Predato ...

, who had punched and concussed Rangers' captain

Ryan McDonagh Ryan Patrick McDonagh (born June 13, 1989) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman for the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL). Drafted in the first round, 12th overall, by the Montreal Canadiens in 2007, he play ...

in an earlier (February 6) game between the two teams. McIlrath had a poor training camp in 2016 and spent the early part of the 2016–17 season as a reserve defenceman, only making one appearance with the team before he was placed on waivers on October 27. He was reassigned to play four games in the AHL with the Wolf Pack before he was traded by the Rangers to the Florida Panthers in exchange for D Steven Kampfer and a conditional 7th round pick on November 8, 2016. After five games with the Panthers, and stints in the AHL with affiliate, the

Springfield Thunderbirds The Springfield Thunderbirds are a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League that began play for the 2016–17 season. They are the affiliate of the National Hockey League's St. Louis Blues. Based in Springfield, M ...

, Mcllrath was traded for the second time within the season by the Panthers to the Detroit Red Wings along with a conditional third-round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft in exchange for

Thomas Vanek Thomas Vanek (born 19 January 1984) is an Austrian former professional ice hockey left winger. He played fourteen years in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Buffalo Sabres, New York Islanders, Montreal Canadiens, Minnesota Wild, Detroit R ...

on March 1, 2017. He was assigned to the Red Wings' AHL affiliate, the

Grand Rapids Griffins The Grand Rapids Griffins are a professional hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and play home games at Van Andel Arena. They are the AHL affiliate to the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey Leag ...

. McIlrath recorded four assists in 21 games for the Griffins during the regular season. During the

2017 Calder Cup playoffs The 2017 Calder Cup playoffs of the American Hockey League began on April 20, 2017, with the playoff format that was introduced in 2016. The sixteen teams that qualified, eight from each conference, played best-of-five series in the division semif ...

, he recorded five assists, and a team-best plus-10 rating in 19 playoff games, and helped lead the Griffins to the Calder Cup. On June 29, 2017, the Red Wings signed McIlrath to a two-year contract extension. On March 24, 2019, the Red Wings recalled McIlrath from the Griffins. Prior to being recalled, he recorded one goal and eights assists in 49 games, and ranked first on the team in penalty minutes (94) and third in plus-minus (12). During the 2018–19 season, McIlrath appeared in seven games for the Red Wings. Following the completion of the Red Wings' season, he was reassigned to the Griffins. On May 9, 2019, the Red Wings signed McIlrath to a two-year contract extension. On January 12, 2021, the Red Wings assigned McIlrath to the Grand Rapids Griffins. On July 28, 2021, McIlrath signed as a free agent to a two-year, two-way contract with the Washington Capitals.

Personal life

McIlrath is a

Scottish-Canadian Scottish Canadians are people of Scottish descent or heritage living in Canada. As the third-largest ethnic group in Canada and amongst the first Europeans to settle in the country, Scottish people have made a large impact on Canadian culture sin ...

As a junior, Mcllrath was influenced to model his play after

Shea Weber Shea Michael Weber (born August 14, 1985) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman under contract with the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played sixteen seasons in the NHL for the Nashville Predators and M ...

of the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

Career statistics

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McIlrath, Dylan 1992 births Connecticut Whale (AHL) players Detroit Red Wings players Florida Panthers players Grand Rapids Griffins players Hartford Wolf Pack players Hershey Bears players Ice hockey people from Manitoba Moose Jaw Warriors players Living people National Hockey League first-round draft picks New York Rangers draft picks New York Rangers players Springfield Thunderbirds players Sportspeople from Winnipeg Canadian ice hockey defencemen