Dylan McIlrath

Dylan McIlrath (born April 20, 1992) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played junior hockey for the Moose Jaw Warriors of the Western Hockey League (WHL) and was drafted by the New York Rangers, 10th overall at the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. Known for his fighting ability, his nickname is "The Undertaker". McIlrath is of majority Scottish descent.

Junior

McIlrath was drafted into the Western Hockey League (WHL) 46th overall by the Moose Jaw Warriors 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 highlight of this game for McIlrath was a convincing victory in a fight against Team Cherry's Alexander Petrovic. During the Warriors' seven-game playoff series against the eventual WHL champions, the Calgary Hitmen, McIlrath played every game and recorded an assist.

Professional

On March 17, 2011, McIlrath signed his first NHL contract with the New York Rangers, 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' American Hockey League (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 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. 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 forward Wayne Simmonds, who had suckerpunched and concussed Rangers' captain Ryan McDonagh 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 re-assigned to play 4 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.

McIlrath models his play after Shea Weber of the Montreal Canadiens.

McIlrath is a Scottish-Canadian