Practice Notebook: McIlrath Embraces Return to Bears

After making the Washington Capitals roster for each of the previous two seasons and beginning the current campaign with Washington, one could forgive Dylan McIlrath for expressing some disappointment or frustration after being sent down to the American Hockey League.

That was not necessary on Tuesday, following McIlrath’s first practice with the Hershey Bears since June of 2024, when he captained the Bears to a second consecutive Calder Cup championship. Instead, the now 34-year-old defenseman was frequently caught flashing his trademark gap-toothed smile and offered a grounded perspective to the attending media at GIANT Center, as he returned to a team where he previously patrolled the blue line from 2021-24.

“It feels good [to be back],” McIlrath said. “Different circumstances than I’m used to being here, but at the same time, I got some time to process the last couple days, and just walking in the rink, [I feel] immense pride just to be back here, and I think gratitude comes to mind. Grateful to be here in such a place that feels like home.”

McIlrath’s presence in Hershey is the result of a domino effect in Washington, after the Capitals acquired goaltender Rémi Poirier on Sunday, prompting Washington to make room on their roster by placing McIlrath on waivers before officially loaning him to Hershey on Monday afternoon.

If there is a silver lining to be had – besides returning to a city and club where his legacy is almost certainly secure and he is universally beloved – it is that McIlrath will be afforded the opportunity to do something he hasn’t been able to do much of the last two seasons in Washington, and that’s taking a regular shift in game action. The veteran of over 700 professional games only managed to earn a sweater in 30 NHL contests over the previous two campaigns, along with four this season.

“That’s the goal of being here, is to get my minutes up, play games consecutively, and feel like a hockey player again,” McIlrath said. “I’ve tried to do my job the best I can up there, and it was just getting tougher with limited ice time and limited games, so everyone involved thinks it’s a good idea to get me playing again and get back to myself and to make sure I’m effective when I do get the chance to play again.”

Bears head coach Derek King is keen to be able to deploy McIlrath, whose reputation is one of a bruising, intimidating defender, and whose addition provides an instant boost of physicality to a blue line on a team that already is surrendering the sixth-fewest shots against per game (25.40) in the league.

“Closing on players, ending plays, pinning guys to walls,” King said. “That’s going to be a big part of his game and it’s going to help us a lot.”

Although King and McIlrath’s tenure in Hershey have not overlapped until now, McIlrath was a defensive force that King had to contend with earlier in their career, when King coached in Rockford and McIlrath patrolled the blue line for the Grand Rapids Griffins, where he won the first of his three Calder Cups in 2017. Now having had a chance to work alongside him, King also embraces the off-ice qualities McIlrath possesses that make him a valued teammate.

“I hated coaching against him, I know that. He used to terrorize our guys,” King said. “But, he’s just a character guy. You would never think, when you coach against somebody like that, when you meet him at the rink, he’s on your side, how nice he is. Gentle, very caring. Cares about players, his team, and we’re excited to have him.”

There was a time earlier in McIlrath’s career where reaching the NHL may have seemed like a distant dream. But the former first-round pick of the New York Rangers has always been driven by a self-determination that enabled him to pursue a late-career return to the major league level with the Capitals, and it’s that same drive that fuels him now as he looks to contribute in Hershey while remaining on the NHL’s radar.

“It’s a mindset I’ve had all along. I don’t know what it is, how I’m wired. I might like adversity…I thrive in it. There’s been a lot of players with a lot more talent than me that have played but not lasted as long as I have,” McIlrath said. “So I take pride in betting on yourself, believing in yourself. If you put in the work, the hard work, it doesn’t matter. You’ll get noticed and if you’re good enough, you’ll play.

“So I’ve never tried to have that attitude of, ‘Woe is me,’ like, ‘I haven’t gotten a chance,’ or, ‘I’m getting screwed here.’ I mean, that just goes in life in general. But mainly when you’ve been in my situation, you’ve got to have that attitude.”

Veteran challenge

The addition of McIlrath increases the number of veterans (players with 260+ games in qualified leagues at the start of the season) on Hershey’s roster to nine. Along with McIlrath, the blue line boasts Louie Belpedio, Justin Holl, and Jacob MacDonald, while Joey Anderson, Jonny Brodzinski, Spencer Smallman, Dalton Smith, and Matt Strome represent the veteran forwards.

While King’s objective behind the bench of the Bears is to lead the team to victory, he is also beholden to the Capitals to play prospects as part of their development model. Walking that balance with McIlrath added to the mix – with Hershey also fielding young defensemen Cam Allen, Ryan Chesley, David Gucciardi, and Leon Muggli on its roster – becomes an even greater challenge.

“When you have good vets that are helping these young guys play, that helps settle things down for them. Last year we didn’t have that really,” King said, referring to Aaron Ness’ battles with injuries and an early-season trade of Calle Rosén. “And then it was just the young guys trying to figure things out on their own.”

The early indication from King is that all four of Hershey’s veteran defensemen will dress in tomorrow’s game against the Hartford Wolf Pack. With a two-game weekend road set against the Springfield Thunderbirds on the horizon, there’s bound to be some juggling of the lineup.

“At some point we’re going to have to figure out how to rotate those guys in and take some of our other vets out,” King said. “It’s tough to do because those are guys who you’re counting on to kind of take this team and lead it, but there’s got to be a time where these guys have to play some hockey.”

Carey fills in for Petersen at practice

One absence fans in attendance at practice today might have noticed was goaltender Cal Petersen, who leads the club with four wins. While Mitch Gibson took regular reps, Padraig Carey – a goaltending coach with Lebanon Valley College and the Hershey Cubs who has filled in previously for the Bears – also faced shots at the opposite end of the ice.

King indicated that Petersen was out for personal reasons involving a relative, but he expects Petersen to return in short order.

“He’ll be back, and we’ll get him up and running again,” King said.

Written by Bears media specialist Jesse Liebman