The New York Rangers' recent draft history has come under scrutiny this past year, especially as the team and their AHL affiliate both finished in last place in their respective divisions. Rangers fans have seen high draft picks like Kaapo Kakko, Brennan Othmann, Lias Andersson, and Vitali Kravtsov all fail to pan out. Given that, the belief was that the Rangers needed to enter a rebuild. Instead, general manager Chris Drury opted for a retool, essentially a half-measure method of bringing in young prospects while still trying to compete for a playoff spot. Thus why they brought in prospects like Alberts Smits, Liam Greentree, and Cole Beaudoin, while adding win-now players like Pavel Dorofeyev, Marcus Pettersson, and Sean Durzi.
Back to their draft history, the Rangers have had some notable misses, like the ones mentioned earlier. But looking back over a decade ago, there was one draft mistake that stands out, and that was defenseman Dylan McIlrath.
With the 10th overall pick, the Rangers watched the Taylor Hall, Tyler Seguin, and Ryan Johansen all get taken off the board. So, they decided to use the pick on McIlrath, in hopes that he could be a piece of their franchise for the foreseeable future.
The thing is, the Rangers left one of the best scoring forwards on the board in Vladimir Tarasenko.
Dylan McIlrath never panned out for the Rangers after first-round pick in 2010
With the power of hindsight, willingly passing on Tarasenko is a disastrous decision. Imagine having Tarasenko, a consistent 30-plus goal scorer and multi-time All-Star, on the Rangers in his prime? Maybe the Rangers would have had better luck at breaking their Stanley Cup drought.
Yet, they decided to go with McIlrath, who they believed had the upside to be a building block for the foreseeable future. The thing is, that never came to fruition.
McIlrath mostly spent his time in the AHL, logging just three games in his first two seasons (2013-14 and 2014-15). His longest stint with the Rangers arrived during the 2015-16 season, where he played in 34 games. In that stretch, McIlrath recorded two goals, two assist, a plus-seven plus/minus rating, and 64 penalty minutes.
The thing with McIlrath was that he was more known for his propensity to fight rather than his actual skillset. Sure, it's nice to have a fighter and instigator on the roster, but the fact that he was a top 10 selection does look bad in hindsight. Besides that, then-head coach Alain Vigneault just didn't think he was worthy of being an every-game starter.
By the time the 2016-17 season arrived, it was evident that the Rangers needed to cut bait. By November of 2016, the Rangers traded McIlrath to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Steven Kampfer and a seventh-round pick. McIlrath only played five games for the Panthers, He would then move onto the Detroit Red Wings (2018-20) before joining the Washington Capitals in 2022, where he still plays.
In total, McIlrath has nine points (three goals, six assists) and 171 penalty minutes over 105 games in 10 seasons.
Rangers later acquired Vladimir Tarasenko for a 2023 Stanley Cup push
While the Rangers whiffed on passing on Tarasenko, they did acquire him years later, albeit for a couple of months. During the 2022-23 season, the Rangers were desperately trying to bolster their roster to ensure they could win the Stanley Cup after losing the Eastern Conference Finals the year prior. One of their moves was to acquire Tarasenko from the Blues, in exchange for Sammy Blais, Hunter Skinner, a 2023 first-round pick, and a 2024 fourth-round pick. Also joining Tarasenko was Niko Mikkola.
This was the Rangers' all-in push to win their first Stanley Cup title since 1994, as evidenced by their second trade deadline acquisition in Patrick Kane. Tarasenko played 31 regular season games for the Rangers, where he scored eight goals and recorded 13 assists. The playoffs rolled around and instead of making it to the Stanley Cup Final at minimum, they were eliminated in the first-round by the rival New Jersey Devils. In the seven game first-round series, Tarasenko recorded three goals and one assist.
Tarasenko's stint in New York was short-lived, as he opted to join the Ottawa Senators in free agency. Then, he was traded to the Florida Panthers, where he helped eliminate the Rangers in the 2024 Eastern Conference Finals, and went on to win the Stanley Cup. Talk about rough circumstances.
But just imagine if the Rangers had had Tarasenko on their roster as a rookie and in the top years of his career. Before his trade to New York in 2023, Tarasenko had 262 goals and 291 assists to his credit in 644 games. That is great production, one the Rangers certainly could have used.
Look, every team whiffs on a draft pick by believing in a player and leaving a better prospect who pans out better on the board. For the Rangers, they believed they were getting a great talent in McIlrath, but watched him fizzle out relatively quickly in New York. Meanwhile, they watched Tarasenko light it up in St. Louis and helped them win their first-ever Stanley Cup in 2019.
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