Rangers take rugged defenseman McIlrath

LOS ANGELES - Big Dylan McIlrath was as taken aback as anyone to be selected by the Rangers with the 10th pick in the NHL draft Friday night.

The Moose Jaw defenseman met with four other teams - Dallas, Anaheim, Vancouver and Florida - but the Rangers praised him even before he tested at last month's draft combine in Toronto.

"To be honest, I'm a little surprised," the 18-year-old said. "With the other teams, I thought it might be one of them."

To be sure, the Rangers appeared to signal that they were looking for a scoring forward, but they instead selected their fourth defenseman in the first round in six years.

At 6-4 and 212, McIlrath certainly is a physical blueliner, (19 fighting majors last season) and raw offensively. He was taken with two other top-rated defensemen, Cam Fowler and Brandon Gormley, on the board, as well as a number of highly touted forwards. But the scouts thought the fast-improving defenseman filled a gap.

"Since early December, we saw him making a step we never thought he had," Rangers director of player personnel Gordie Clark said. "His play just started taking off. He had a hell of a stretch and a hell of a playoff. All his points came in the second half [actually 16 of his 24 in 29 games].

"We have a good group of young kids, talented forwards," Clark said. But not someone like McIlrath.

"This ingredient is missing,'' Clark said. "He's a guy you're going to look out for every night and you're not going to like playing against him."

In 65 games with the Moose Jaw Warriors of the WHL, McIlrath has seven goals, 17 assists and 169 penalty minutes. With a plus-20 rating, he received Moose Jaw's most improved player award for the second straight year. In the Canadian Hockey League's Top Prospects Game, he finished second in the hardest-shot competition at 91.8 mph.

McIlrath, who met with the Rangers before he tested at the combine, said he believes he can develop into more of a two-way player. "I know I'm not going to be a 50-point guy," McIlrath said. "I know my role is to be a shutdown guy."

Like many fans, he watched as the draft unfolded with forwards being taken with eight of the first nine selections. "I was making bets with my dad and after the first three [picks], I was wrong on every one," McIlrath said. "But I can't imagine a better opportunity. My dad was a rugby player; maybe that's where I get nasty from. I've always been a physical player . . . It's not just fighting, it's the intimidation factor."

McIlrath was the second defenseman taken after Florida chose Erik Gudbranson at No. 3. The Rangers took defenseman Michael Del Zotto at 20 in 2008, Bobby Sanguinetti at 21 in 2006 and Marc Staal at 12 in 2005.

Clark expects McIlrath to play for Moose Jaw next season, but he could make the club sooner than expected as the learning curve continues. "He's a top- class volleyball player; the feet are there," Clark said. "When this kid is 22, you're going to see a hell of a hockey player."