It would appear that Hershey Bears captain Dylan McIlrath will be elsewhere for at least the time-being.

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The 32-year-old defenseman remains on the roster of the Washington Capitals following their latest round of cuts. NHL rosters are due at 5 p.m. ET Monday. McIlrath has captained the Bears to back-to-back Calder Cup championships. He first came to the Washington organization in 2021 following parts of five seasons in the Detroit Red Wings organization. He won his first Calder Cup in 2017 with Grand Rapids, where he played for current Bears head coach Todd Nelson.

With the Capitals hit hard by injuries last April, McIlrath was part of a Hershey contingent recalled by Washington. He ended up dressing for four Stanley Cup Playoff games for the Capitals before they were eliminated in the first round by the New York Rangers. He then returned to Hershey for the Bears’ Calder Cup Playoff run.

A 6-foot-5, 227-pound throwback defenseman, the Rangers took him 10th overall in the 2010 NHL Draft. He has played 75 NHL games for the Rangers, Florida, Detroit, and Washington along with 618 regular-season contests at the AHL level. He has another 91 Calder Cup Playoff games to his name.

For a player to break through and find a second NHL life like this at 32 years old is far from common, especially among defensemen. Among active AHL players, only Andrew Agozzino, Gabriel Dumont, Aaron Ness, T.J. Tynan, Garrett Wilson, Trevor Carrick, and Seth Griffith have played more games in the league than McIlrath has, according to EliteProspects.com. Of those players, only Ness and Carrick are defenseman. Before last season McIlrath's lone stint with the Capitals had been a six-game trial in 2022-23. Prior to Capitals debut that season, McIlrath had not appeared in an NHL game since Dec. 10, 2019 when he was with the Red Wings.

McIlrath is not benefitting from injuries on the Washington blue line, either. In order to stick in Washington, he had to beat out Ethan Bear, Hardy Haman-Aktell, Vincent Iorio, and Chase Priskie for a spot with the Capitals.

The Bears open their season Saturday at home against the Cleveland Monsters.

When Does The AHL Season Start in 2024?

The season begins on Oct. 11, 2024 with the Milwaukee Admirals traveling to the Grand Rapids Griffins at 7 p.m. EDT and the Syracuse Crunch traveling to the Utica Comets at the same time. 

There are a total of 29 games over the opening weekend. 

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