Jack Rathbone

American ice hockey player

Ice hockey player

Jack Rathbone

Born|  (1999-05-20) May 20, 1999 (age 26)
West Roxbury, Massachusetts, U.S.
Height|  5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight|  190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position|  Defense
Shoots|  Left
NHL team (P)
Cur. team
Former teams|  Buffalo Sabres
Rochester Americans (AHL)
Vancouver Canucks
NHL draft|  95th overall, 2017
Vancouver Canucks
Playing career|  2021–present

Jack Rathbone (born May 20, 1999) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman for the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL). Rathbone was drafted 95th overall in the 2017 NHL entry draft by the Vancouver Canucks, with whom he began his NHL career.[1]

## Early life

[edit]

Rathbone was born in West Roxbury, Massachusetts[2] to parents Jason and Beth.[3] His father was a draft pick of the New York Islanders in 1988 and coached him during his time with the Cape Cod Whalers.[4] Rathbone is also the oldest of three siblings, a brother and sister, and grew up a Boston Bruins fan.[3]

## Playing career

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### Amateur

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Growing up in Massachusetts, Rathbone played ice hockey for the Mass Midget Select League's Cape Cod Whalers and Dexter Southfield School.[2] During his first year with the U18 Whalers team, he recorded eight goals and 18 points which he superseded the following year by posting 16 goals and 35 points in 22 games.[5] Although Rathbone missed four weeks of the season due to a concussion, he was still considered a ALL-USA Player of the Year candidate.[6] Rathbone committed to play NCAA Division I ice hockey with the Harvard Crimson in 2015[5] but chose to complete his education at Dexter rather than join the United States Hockey League (USHL) to remain closer to his family and autistic brother.[7]

Throughout the 2016–17 season, Rathbone split his time between the Whalers, Dexter, and Youngstown Phantoms in the USHL. He played four games with the Phantoms and recorded one assist.[8] During his senior year at Dexter, Rathbone was named captain and was ranked 57th overall by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau in their final ranking of North American skaters.[9] Prior to graduating, Rathbone was drafted 95th overall in the 2017 NHL entry draft by the Vancouver Canucks.[10]

### Collegiate

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Rathbone joined the Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey team to compete in their 2018–19 season[11] and received the Don Parsons Memorial Scholarship in recognition of his "character, community service, leadership and academics."[12] As a freshman at Harvard, Rathbone skated in 33 games and finished the season with seven goals and 15 assists for 22 points. His first collegiate goal came against the Quinnipiac Bobcats on November 2, 2018, and he finished the year with a seven-game point-streak.[13] His seventh point in the same number of games came during a loss against Clarkson which effectively knocked Harvard out of the ECAC playoffs.[14] As he completed the season second amongst league rookies in points, he was named to the ECAC Hockey All-Rookie Team.[15]

Rathbone re-joined the Harvard Crimson for his sophomore year and recorded 31 points in 28 games as the season was cut short due to COVID-19.[13] Prior to the seasons' cancellation, Rathbone earned national recognition with an election to the First Team All-ECAC Hockey team[16] and AHCA All-American First Team.[17] Once the season was cancelled, Rathbone returned home and debated whether he should return to college or start his professional career.[3]

### Professional

[edit]

On July 14, 2020, Rathbone signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Canucks, thus concluding his collegiate career.[18] On May 6, 2021, Rathbone scored his first NHL goal in a 6–3 win against the Edmonton Oilers.[19]

On October 17, 2023, Rathbone was traded by the Canucks alongside Karel Plášek to the Pittsburgh Penguins, in exchange for Mark Friedman and Ty Glover.[20] He played out the remainder of the season with Pittsburgh's AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, registering 8 goals and 24 points through 67 regular season games.

As a free agent from the Penguins, Rathbone was signed to a one-year, two-way contract with the Buffalo Sabres on July 1, 2024.[21]

## International play

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Rathbone was named to Team USA to compete during the 2015 Under-17 Five Nations Tournament.[22] He recorded two goals in their final game against Germany to clinch first place at the tournament.[23]

## Career statistics

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|  | Regular season |  | Playoffs

|
|
|
|

Season | Team  | League  | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM
2014–15  | Dexter Southfield School | USHS | 31 | 3 | 4 | 7 | —  | — | — | — | — | —
2015–16  | Dexter Southfield School  | USHS  | 29 | 11 | 15 | 26 | —  | — | — | — | — | —
2016–17  | Dexter Southfield School  | USHS  | 22 | 16 | 19 | 35 | —  | — | — | — | — | —
2016–17 | Youngstown Phantoms | USHL | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0  | — | — | — | — | —
2017–18  | Dexter Southfield School  | USHS  | 17 | 11 | 19 | 30 | —  | — | — | — | — | —
2018–19 | Harvard University | ECAC | 33 | 7 | 15 | 22 | 8  | — | — | — | — | —
2019–20 | Harvard University  | ECAC  | 28 | 7 | 24 | 31 | 16  | — | — | — | — | —
2020–21 | Utica Comets | AHL | 8 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 2  | — | — | — | — | —
2020–21 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 8 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0  | — | — | — | — | —
2021–22 | Vancouver Canucks  | NHL  | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2  | — | — | — | — | —
2021–22 | Abbotsford Canucks | AHL  | 39 | 10 | 30 | 40 | 15  | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0
2022–23 | Vancouver Canucks  | NHL  | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2  | — | — | — | — | —
2022–23 | Abbotsford Canucks  | AHL  | 37 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 12  | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4
2023–24 | Abbotsford Canucks  | AHL  | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2  | — | — | — | — | —
2023–24  | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | AHL  | 67 | 8 | 16 | 24 | 21  | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0
2024–25 | Rochester Americans | AHL  | 63 | 6 | 17 | 23 | 51  | 8 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8
NHL totals  | 28 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4  | — | — | — | — | —

## Awards and honors

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Award  | Year  |

|
|

USHS
(East) All-New England First Team  | 2017  |
All-USA Hockey First Team  | 2017  |
All-USA Hockey Second Team  | 2018  |
College
ECAC All-Rookie Team  | 2019 |
ECAC First All-Star Team  | 2020 | [24]
All-Ivy League First Team  | 2020  |
New England D1 All-Stars  | 2020  |
East First All-American Team  | 2020  |
All-USCHO Second Team  | 2020  |
AHL
All-Rookie Team  | 2022 | [25]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Canucks: Jack Rathbone makes his NHL debut against high-octane Oilers". theprovince. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
2. ^ a b "Jack Rathbone". eliteprospects.com. Elite Prospects. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
3. ^ a b c MacIntyre, Iain (March 20, 2020). "Prospect Jack Rathbone pauses pro decision as Canucks rave of his talent". sportsnet.ca. Sportsnet. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
4. ^ Lawson, Matt (November 13, 2018). "Canucks Prospect Pipeline: Jack Rathbone". thehockeywriters.com. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
5. ^ a b Conway, Kevin (July 10, 2017). "Rathbone becomes latest Whalers star selected in NHL Entry Draft". pointstreak.com. Pointstreak. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
6. ^ "ALL-USA Watch: Hockey star Jack Rathbone returns from concussion to lead Dexter (Mass.)". usatodayhss.com. USA TODAY High School Sports. February 21, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
7. ^ "West Roxbury NHL prospect Jack Rathbone has priorities in right place". Boston Herald. June 15, 2017. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
8. ^ Mros, Julie (July 6, 2017). "Karow and Rathbone Selected in 2017 NHL Draft". youngstownphantoms.com. Youngstown Phantoms. Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
9. ^ Morreale, Mike G. (May 30, 2017). "NHL Scouting Combine, Day 2: Defensemen raising stock". nhl.com. National Hockey League. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
10. ^ Biech, Ryan (June 25, 2017). "Canucks 2nd day draft recap". nhl.com. National Hockey League. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
11. ^ "Men's Ice Hockey Announces Eight Freshmen in Class of 2022". gocrimson.com. Harvard University. June 15, 2018. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
12. ^ "Jack Rathbone awarded 2018 Don Parsons Memorial Scholarship". goalline.ca. August 20, 2020. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
13. ^ a b "Jack Rathbone". gocrimson.com. Harvard University. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
14. ^ Raptis, Mike (March 16, 2019). "Rathbone Builds On Breakout Season". Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: The Province. Retrieved January 10, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
15. ^ "Fox Headlines Five All-ECAC Hockey Selections For Men's Ice Hockey". gocrimson.com. Harvard University. March 18, 2019. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
16. ^ "Six From Men's Ice Hockey Earn ECAC Hockey Postseason Awards". gocrimson.com. Harvard University. March 17, 2020. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
17. ^ "Rathbone, Abruzzese Named CCM/AHCA Hockey All-Americans". gocrimson.com. Harvard University. April 11, 2020. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
18. ^ "Canucks sign D Rathbone to ELC". tsn.ca. The Sports Network. July 14, 2020. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
19. ^ "Canucks 6, Oilers 3: Rathbone gets his first NHL goal". The Province. May 6, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
20. ^ "Penguins Acquire Jack Rathbone and Karel Plasek from the Canucks in Exchange for Mark Friedman and Ty Glover". NHL.com. October 17, 2023.
21. ^ "Sabres sign five players to two-way contracts". Buffalo Sabres. July 1, 2024. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
22. ^ "Under-17 Five Nations Tournament All Time Roster". teamusa.usahockey.com. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
23. ^ "U.S. Earns U17 Five Nations Title With 8-1 Win Over Germany". usahockey.com. August 16, 2015. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
24. ^ "ECAC Hockey announces All-League selections". ECAC Hockey. March 17, 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2021.[permanent dead link]
25. ^ "2021-22 AHL All-Rookie Team named". American Hockey League. April 27, 2022. Retrieved April 27, 2022.

## External links

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* Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database