The Rangers’ first-round pick in 2010, defenseman Dylan McIlrath, had surgery Friday for a dislocated kneecap and will be out for an undetermined period of time, the team announced.
The 20-year-old McIlrath, at 6-foot-5 and 220 pounds, was hoping to compete for a position on the team’s blueline next season, which was to be his first as a pro after finishing up his stint in the juniors last year with Moose Jaw of the WHL, then playing five playoff games with the Connecticut Whale (AHL).
Last week, during the prospect camp at the MSG Training Center in Greenburgh, N.Y., McIlrath collided with Kyle Jean on an open-ice hit and fell to the ice writhing in pain. McIlrath saw team doctors and opted for surgery, performed by Dr. Andrew Feldman and Dr. Anthony Maddalo at the NYU Langone Medical Center’s Hospital for Joint Diseases in Manhattan.
Jean, an undrafted 22-year-old out of Lake Superior State University, signed his first contract on Thursday.
“Each year [McIlrath] just comes back bigger, and thicker and stronger,” Gordie Clark, the Rangers’ director of player personnel, wrote on the team’s website after the collision. “It’s just a freak thing on the ice. … We’ll wait for him to get healthy again.”
Clark had high expectations for McIlrath, the 10th overall pick. The Winnipeg, Manitoba, native had three goals and 20 assists in 52 games last season for Moose Jaw, including 127 penalty minutes.
The Rangers’ defensive stalwarts next year figure to be Dan Girardi, Ryan McDonagh and Marc Staal. Michael Del Zotto is a restricted free agent and Anton Stralman filed for salary arbitration on Thursday, making both probable to return. Stu Bickel is also signed to a new one-way, two-year, $1.5 million deal, making any possible roster spots on the backline not necessarily open.
Yet a competitive training camp from McIlrath — which he was reportedly trending towards after some impressive sessions at the development scrimmages — might have made the front office at least think twice.
Jeff Beukeboom, the fan-favorite defenseman for the Rangers’ 1994 Stanley Cup-winning squad, was named an assistant coach for the Whale yesterday. Beukeboom had spent the past three seasons as an assistant coach with the Sudbury Wolves of the OHL. He replaces J.J. Daigneault, who left to join the Canadiens.