Dylan Mcilrath Part III

[Brooklyn Ranger]

I am running 11F/7D next season.

I put Staal and McIlrath together. Staal and Sauer was a great albeit short lived pairing, but they can recreate that to an extent with that. Think he needs a chance.

I was at that St. Louis game. Until the Tarasenko goal he didn't look too bad. He needs a chance and he is getting better.

No way that's going to happen on a regular basis. AV likes having set lines and defensive pairings. He doesn't like mixing and matching unless the situation calls for it and even then it doesn't happen a lot game in and game out.

McIlrath has to prove he can take a regular shift and then he'll make the team.

 

[Savant]

Why? Also McD-Sauer was the dominant pair, not Staal-Sauer

Staal-Sauer was quite good, when Staal came back from his concussion.

Really liked how that operated.

I am going 11/7 because it can help the team. You can protect Girardi, Staal, Boyle's minutes a bit better that way and get the young guys into the team. You can get better puck movers in there as well and maybe it gets Glass out of the lineup.

I would like to see Yandle-McDonagh, Staal-McIlrath, Skjei-Girardi with Boyle as your specialist. You can shake things up as you need as well.

You get Yandle more minutes this way. You can develop your young players this way. You can protect Boyle and Girardi's minutes and keep them both fresh, and it gives you a puck mover.

NHL is a copy cat league. A lot more teams may go 11/7 and I think the Rangers are certainly equipped to do so/

 

[broadwayblue]

Very unlikely AV is going with 7D

 

[JohnC]

I was at that St. Louis game. Until the Tarasenko goal he didn't look too bad. He needs a chance and he is getting better.

McIlrath still isn't even the worst part of that sequence. Glass and Kostka still make me say what the **** out loud

Also didn't even remember it was a PK until now

 

[Brooklyn Ranger]

I also don't think AV is going to change his whole philosophy just to accommodate a rookie on defense.

 

[haveandare]

I also don't think AV is going to change his whole philosophy just to accommodate a rookie on defense.

What philosophy is that? Staal, G and Klein all play a stay at home brand of defense. McI does too, he's just bigger and more willing to rough up the opposition.

 

[Savant]

McIlrath still isn't even the worst part of that sequence. Glass and Kostka still make me say what the **** out loud

Also didn't even remember it was a PK until now

Yup lol. Had a great view of it too. McIlrath looked bad because he was the last man but the damage was already done.

AV went 11F/7D in game 7 so he at least has to be receptive to the idea. AV is actually a pretty pragmatic coach so you never know. The Rangers had severe problems in the defense with puck movement and crease clearing. Luckily your two rookie NHL ready defensemen can help with those things. And again if you roll 7 D you can keep Girardi and Boyle's minutes down. I just honestly think that the Rangers have the personnel on both sides on the ice to pull it off very well. Potentially better than TB. It solves a lot of their problems.

 

[Sirius Vivace]

Yup lol. Had a great view of it too. McIlrath looked bad because he was the last man but the damage was already done.

AV went 11F/7D in game 7 so he at least has to be receptive to the idea. AV is actually a pretty pragmatic coach so you never know. The Rangers had severe problems in the defense with puck movement and crease clearing. Luckily your two rookie NHL ready defensemen can help with those things. And again if you roll 7 D you can keep Girardi and Boyle's minutes down. I just honestly think that the Rangers have the personnel on both sides on the ice to pull it off very well. Potentially better than TB. It solves a lot of their problems.

I appreciate the thought & creativity behind the 11/7 idea...but its highly unlikely. AV went 11/7 in the final game of the ECF because McD had a broken foot & the freezing wasn't working. It was a move he felt forced to make, not a philosophy. AV being a pragmatic coach means that he'll do the standard 12/6. If we were not pragmatic, then I'd be more apt to believe he'd consider 11/7.

 

[Savant]

I appreciate the thought & creativity behind the 11/7 idea...but its highly unlikely. AV went 11/7 in the final game of the ECF because McD had a broken foot & the freezing wasn't working. It was a move he felt forced to make, not a philosophy. AV being a pragmatic coach means that he'll do the standard 12/6. If we were not pragmatic, then I'd be more apt to believe he'd consider 11/7.

Vocab Fail.

But regardless. Copy cat league and personnel to run it. Also a good way to keep Glass out of the lineup.

 

[Doctyl]

Why was McIlrath on the PK?

 

[NYR Viper]

Why was McIlrath on the PK?

It was preseason.

People are not giving McIlrath credit for the game he plays. He fights. That is a part of his game. It's not his entire game. He is extremely physical along the boards. He is a good straight-ahead skater. He is the epitome of a warrior. He blocks shots. He is a very good PKer. He has good stickwork. He clears the front of the net well.

What he needs to work on:
Getting used to the speed of the NHL
Lateral mobility
Positioning at all times
Picking his spots

These are things he will learn with time.

 

[mike14]

Why was McIlrath on the PK?

Hunwick was in the box, McD was out injured, Staal/Giradi can't kill a full 2 min penalty and the other options were Kostka and Allem

 

[Sirius Vivace]

It was preseason.

People are not giving McIlrath credit for the game he plays. He fights. That is a part of his game. It's not his entire game. He is extremely physical along the boards. He is a good straight-ahead skater. He is the epitome of a warrior. He blocks shots. He is a very good PKer. He has good stickwork. He clears the front of the net well.

What he needs to work on:
Getting used to the speed of the NHL
Lateral mobility
Positioning at all times
Picking his spots

These are things he will learn with time.

I think you're right, and most people aren't even familiar with the game he plays. There hear his name and automatically assume "Goon". If people would read the reports from Beacon, Mikos, etc... they would realize that Mcilrath has turned a corner. His own coaching staff has been heaping praise on him. He finished positive in +/- in the Playoffs. He played on the first pairing D in Hartford.... and Hartford reached the 3rd round in the PO.

People need to wipe away whatever preconceptions they have on this guy and give him a break. Root for the guy for crying out loud. He's a Ranger who's been busting his butt.

 

[iamitter]

It was preseason.

People are not giving McIlrath credit for the game he plays. He fights. That is a part of his game. It's not his entire game. He is extremely physical along the boards. He is a good straight-ahead skater. He is the epitome of a warrior. He blocks shots. He is a very good PKer. He has good stickwork. He clears the front of the net well.

What he needs to work on:
Getting used to the speed of the NHL
Lateral mobility
Positioning at all times
Picking his spots

These are things he will learn with time.

Except for the being an exceptional fighter, these are all things Girardi does, too, except it seems he doesn't have the positioning down, which is the one thing Girard excels at and makes him capable.


The questions we should be asking when observing defensemen are not "do they block shots", but "how often do they put the team in a position that a shot has to be blocked?"

 

[BlueshirtBlitz]

I think the reality of the situation is that McIlrath sounds like he's good at everything the current game is moving away from. It's all about good two-way guys now and nothing about McIlrath sounds like that.

If he's gonna be notably good, I think it either doesn't happen at all or happens later on in his career, after he gets super comfortable with the game.

 

[Brooklyn Ranger]

What philosophy is that? Staal, G and Klein all play a stay at home brand of defense. McI does too, he's just bigger and more willing to rough up the opposition.

I was responding to a post about playing 11 forwards and 7 defensemen so McIlrath could be eased into the lineup.

 

[JC704]

Said it before, I'll say it again. If they let him go, it will come back to bite us and add on top of how he's already compared to a "few" players who were drafted after him, and it will add insult to injury.

He has difference-maker potential IMO.

 

[mandiblesofdoom]

It was preseason.

People are not giving McIlrath credit for the game he plays. He fights. That is a part of his game. It's not his entire game. He is extremely physical along the boards. He is a good straight-ahead skater. He is the epitome of a warrior. He blocks shots. He is a very good PKer. He has good stickwork. He clears the front of the net well.

What he needs to work on:
Getting used to the speed of the NHL
Lateral mobility
Positioning at all times
Picking his spots

These are things he will learn with time.

How does he do with moving the puck/making a good first pass?

 

[bhamill]

I think the reality of the situation is that McIlrath sounds like he's good at everything the current game is moving away from. It's all about good two-way guys now and nothing about McIlrath sounds like that.

If he's gonna be notably good, I think it either doesn't happen at all or happens later on in his career, after he gets super comfortable with the game.

In reality, the only thing the league is moving away from that he is good at is fighting. Goons are rapidly fading, but his league will never move in a direction where punishing hitting, winning board battles and crease clearing are not valuable commodities. And the THREAT of retribution for dirty play is never a bad thing, never will be. As someone (many actually) already said, HE IS NOT A GOON. He is a first pairing AHL DMan on a team that made it to the third round, that happens to be able to fight well.

 

[Mikos87]

How does he do with moving the puck/making a good first pass?

He's more inclined to chip it out of the zone instead of springing a transition. Much better at recognizing when to do what, but you won't see him making those Yandle like stretch passes.

Girardi can make a stretch pass on the tape, and McIlrath can from time to time, but only without pressure and if the head man is open.

 

[Mikos87]

In reality, the only thing the league is moving away from that he is good at is fighting. Goons are rapidly fading, but his league will never move in a direction where punishing hitting, winning board battles and crease clearing are not valuable commodities. And the THREAT of retribution for dirty play is never a bad thing, never will be. As someone (many actually) already said, HE IS NOT A GOON. He is a first pairing AHL DMan on a team that made it to the third round, that happens to be able to fight well.

He's the kind of player that will knock a guy out of a series if he has to. Anything to win. Rangers need a player or two like that for the playoffs.

 

[mandiblesofdoom]

He's more inclined to chip it out of the zone instead of springing a transition. Much better at recognizing when to do what, but you won't see him making those Yandle like stretch passes.

Girardi can make a stretch pass on the tape, and McIlrath can from time to time, but only without pressure and if the head man is open.

Thanks for the response.

Stretch pass is great if it's there. Also the smaller plays matter - does he clear/get it to the forwards when that's available.

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

Yup lol. Had a great view of it too. McIlrath looked bad because he was the last man but the damage was already done.

That Tarasenko goal wasn't McIlrath's fault, but what really made him look bad was how it took him about a day and a half to pivot vs. NHL level speed.

Maybe he's improved in that regard over the last several months. But we won't really know that until hes in there against NHL caliber talent again.

 

[NYR Viper]

That Tarasenko goal wasn't McIlrath's fault, but what really made him look bad was how it took him about a day and a half to pivot vs. NHL level speed.

Maybe he's improved in that regard over the last several months. But we won't really know that until hes in there against NHL caliber talent again.

To be fair, that's one play against one of the better offensive players in the NHL skating full speed while he is standing still. Any defenseman is going to look like that

 

[eco's bones]

As a fighter McIlrath is a legit heavyweight. He's not a terrific fighter for a heavyweight though. Most fights against other heavies he'll throw some--take some and mostly neither will really be hurt. You wouldn't want to be a smaller fighter with no reach because you'll be at the end of his arm. He uses his reach. Most guys smaller than him are going to have a problem.

That all being said he fights maybe a dozen times a year. He's controlled. He's not Dale Purinton the 2nd and the heavies he could face in the next several years are mostly going the way of the dinosaur. The main thing he needs to do is prove he can play at the NHL level. If he can do that his physical game should accentuate his value in the years to come.

People worrying about his fighting too much IMO. It's something he does well but it's only occasionally very useful. It's always nice having a nuclear option. When you do have it it's best to be circumspect how you use it and McIlrath appears intelligent enough to realize it.