Home / News / Capitals send Joe Snively back to Hershey, recall Dylan McIlrath

Capitals send Joe Snively back to Hershey, recall Dylan McIlrath

By Chris Cerullo

 2 Comments

February 19, 2023 3:22 pm

The Washington Capitals announced on Sunday that have sent forward Joe Snively back to the Hershey Bears and in his place recalled defenseman Dylan McIlrath.

Snively heads back to the AHL after a successful two-game stint that saw him record two points. McIlrath comes back up to the Caps after being sent down on Saturday so that Tom Wilson could be activated off of injured reserve.

Snively returns to the Bears after he tallied two points against the Hurricanes, played just 8:41 of ice time in the next game against the Panthers, and then was a healthy scratch in the team’s lopsided loss to Carolina in the 2023 Stadium Series Game.

Over that three-game span, despite not even playing in one of the games, Snively was one of three total Caps players to record multiple points. He has three points (1g, 2a) in eight NHL games this season as well as eight points (5g, 3a) in 13 AHL games.

McIlrath got into one game during his most recent recall. He was a minus-two in the 6-3 loss to the Panthers on Thursday. He played a total of 11:31 of ice time in the game as Martin Fehervary’s partner on the third pairing.

The Caps are now carrying eight defensemen on their 23-man roster.

Here’s the full press release from the team:

Capitals Recall Dylan McIlrath, Forward Joe Snively Loaned to Hershey

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Washington Capitals have recalled defenseman Dylan McIlrath from the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL) and have loaned forward Joe Snively to Hershey, senior vice president and general manager Brian MacLellan announced today.

McIlrath, 30, made his Capitals debut on Feb. 16 against the Florida Panthers. The Hershey captain has recorded 10 assists in 44 games with the Bears this season and leads the team in penalty minutes (83). McIlrath’s 44 games played rank third among Hershey defensemen and his 10 assists rank tied for fourth.

The 6’5”, 232-pound defenseman has played 67 career NHL games with the Capitals, New York Rangers, Florida Panthers and Detroit Red Wings, recording five points (3g, 2a) and 121 penalty minutes. In 544 career AHL games with Hershey, Grand Rapids, Hartford, Springfield and Connecticut, McIlrath has recorded 110 points (27g, 83a) and 1,085 penalty minutes. The Winnipeg, Manitoba native won the 2017 Calder Cup with the Grand Rapid Griffins. McIlrath was selected by the Rangers in the first round, 10th overall, in the 2010 NHL Draft.

Snively has recorded three points (1g, 2a) in eight games with Washington this season. The Herndon, Virginia, native became the first Virginia-born player to play for the Capitals in franchise history last season. In 12 games in 2021-22, Snively recorded seven points (4g, 3a), including a three-point effort (2g, 1a) on Feb. 10, 2022 against the Montreal Canadiens. Snively became one of 15 rookies in franchise history to record at least seven points in his first 10 games. In 20 career NHL games with the Capitals, Snively has recorded 10 points (5g, 5a).

In 13 games with Hershey this season, Snively has recorded eight points (5g, 3a). The 5’9”, 179-pound forward ranks tied for fifth on the Bears in power-play goals and seventh in points per game (0.62). Snively recorded 38 points (15g, 23a) in 35 games with Hershey in 2021-22 and ranked third on the team in points and fourth in goals. During the 2020-21 season, Snively registered 17 points (6g, 11a) in 30 games for the Bears. In 132 career AHL games with Hershey, Snively has recorded 94 points (40g, 54a).

Snively trained at MedStar Capitals Iceplex during his youth and was a participant in Washington’s Little Caps program.

Headline photo: Alan Dobbins/RMNB

, ,