He'll be 31.
That's the only accurate projection of McIlrath in 10 years. At this point, every other mention of him is so swayed by bias that this board should honestly ban threads discussing him.
I don't think I'm particularly biased. I absolutely hated the pick at the time, there's no disputing that. And initially, I was biased because of that. However, since I decided to actually give the kid a chance, I've actually been very pleased with his development.
He skates very well for a big guy, his positioning and awareness have improved by leaps and bounds, and he has a developing offensive game as well. If he were drafted in the second round, I think people would be extremely happy with the progress he has shown, and outright excited about his potential. Unfortunately, he was drafted ahead of some other players that are significantly ahead of him developmentally, and people allow that to taint their evaluation of him as a prospect.
Where do I see him in ten years? That's really hard to say, for anyone. Within the next year or two, I think it's a pretty safe projection to see him as a good bottom pairing defender, capable of 15 minutes of good defense each night. I think an optimistic projection within the next three years is a quality second pairing defenseman, dominating in the crease area and while making opponents think twice about skating below the circles. Next year should be telling for him--if he looks out of place even in limited minutes, then the optimistic projection a couple years down the line would look a little bleak.
He's still a work in progress. I don't care where he was drafted, though. For the purposes of evaluating and projecting him, that's pretty much irrelevant.