Dylan McIlrath returned to Hershey on Tuesday morning under vastly different circumstances than when he last wore a Bears jersey.
The 34-year-old defenseman, who captained Hershey to back-to-back Calder Cup championships in 2023 and 2024, was sent back to the AHL on Monday after clearing NHL waivers. McIlrath had spent the entire previous two-plus seasons with the Washington Capitals, re-establishing himself on an NHL roster after years of fighting for another opportunity in the league.
That opportunity came with a catch, though. McIlrath was often a healthy scratch under Spencer Carbery, getting a jersey only as an injury replacement or physical deterrent. After appearing in just four games this season and averaging 6:34 of ice time, the veteran blueliner was waived by Washington to make room on its roster for newly acquired depth goaltender Rémi Poirier.
Following his first practice back with the Bears on Tuesday, McIlrath spoke to gathered Bears media about the disappointment of his demotion, the challenges of being a frequent healthy scratch in Washington, and why returning to Hershey could ultimately help him get back to the NHL.
“You know what? It feels good,” McIlrath said in a video posted by the Chocolate Roar of being back with the Bears. “Different circumstances than I’m used to being here, but at the same time, I’ve got some time to process the last couple days. Just walking into the rink, just immense pride, just to be back here. And I think just gratitude comes to mind. I’m grateful to be here in such a place that feels like home.”
McIlrath’s presence was immediately felt on the ice by his new teammates during the Bears’ skate.
“I liked our practice. I liked our pace, the energy,” Bears head coach Derek King said. “Obviously, you always get a little more energized when you get a guy like McIlrath coming down in your lineup. So our guys are excited.”
The veteran rearguard focused on the positives of the demotion, admitting that playing in just 34 games over the last three seasons made it increasingly difficult for him to perform at his best.
“Certainly 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 the limited ice time and limited games.
“So everyone involved, I think, thinks it’s a good idea to get me playing again and kind of get back to myself and to make sure I’m effective when I do get a chance to play again.”
McIlrath acknowledged that his role with the Capitals required an entirely different mindset than the one he developed as Hershey’s captain. Instead of being relied upon for substantial minutes and physical play every night, he often had to find other ways to contribute.
“I took a lot of pride in making the team early on,” McIlrath said. “My path has definitely not been a straight line, so it was really rewarding to make the club. The first year, for sure, just being back in the NHL room and trying to help in a totally different way than what I was doing in Hershey. Kind of being that energy, that enthusiasm at the rink, trying to be a good teammate when I could and when I was relied on, and be physical.”
Still, he admitted that spending so much time watching from the press box took its toll.
“The sitting out was difficult at times,” McIlrath said.
The veteran defenseman said he tried to maintain a positive attitude throughout his time in Washington, something his Capitals teammates noticed and appreciated. Several approached him to offer encouragement and acknowledge the difficult role he was filling. That experience, McIlrath believes, helped him grow. His return to Hershey, however, comes with mixed emotions. Although he’s grateful to be back in a place that means so much to him, he made clear that playing in the NHL remains his ultimate goal.
“It’s definitely a privilege, not a right, to play in the NHL,” McIlrath said. “And so I’m coming back here. Yeah, it’s disappointing. I’m not where I eventually want to be, but it’s also a place where I have a lot of pride wearing this Bears uniform and seeing everyone around the rink. And it feels like home, so I’ve got a lot to be thankful for.”
McIlrath returns to a much younger Hershey defensive corps than the one he left in 2024. Now, he hopes to serve as a mentor to the organization’s developing prospects like Ryan Chesley, Cam Allen, Leon Muggli, and David Gucciardi.
“It’s crazy being on the other side of it, being the old guy on the team,” McIlrath said. “I’m just excited to be that leader and person they can come to.”
Although McIlrath is back in the AHL, his long-term ambitions haven’t changed. He’s still betting on himself, just as he did when he worked his way back into the NHL after spending years in the minor leagues. It’s a belief that has sustained him throughout his 15-year professional career.
“I don’t know what it is, how I’m wired. I might like adversity. I thrive in it,” McIlrath said.
“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. So I take pride in just, yeah, 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.”
For McIlrath, that has also meant refusing to view his latest setback as an injustice.
“I’ve never tried to have that attitude of woe is me, I haven’t gotten a chance, I’m getting screwed here,” he said.
That attitude immediately struck King, who admitted that McIlrath was a handful as an opponent in the past.
“I hated coaching against him,” he said. “He used to terrorize our guys in the past.”
But upon meeting him in Hershey, King found McIlrath to be the exact opposite: gentle and very caring.
“That’s just the character, right? That’s just the way he is,” King said on McIlrath’s positivity. “That’s what I heard about him. And it’s true. Unfortunately for him that he didn’t play, and he wasn’t in the lineup every game, came in and out of the lineup. And coming down here, you always wonder how players are gonna take that. But big smile on his face, he’s ready to go. And I think it’ll be good for him to get some minutes, get some touches, and get back into that game-shape type play.
“We’re excited for selfish reasons to have him.”
McIlrath appears likely to make his AHL season debut Wednesday night against the Hartford Wolf Pack, where, if he gets a jersey, it’ll mark his first game with the Bears since June 24, 2024, when Hershey eliminated the Coachella Valley Firebirds in the 2024 Calder Cup Final and became back-to-back champions.
And if McIlrath’s career has taught him anything, it’s that the road back to the NHL doesn’t have to be a straight one.
