A defenseman on his way out?
It hasn't been long since the 23-year-old defenseman, Jack Rathbone, has been demoted to the AHL.
The youngster has developed great so far, drafted in 2017 in the 4th round, apart from Elias Pettersson, he's the only pick that played for the Nucks and is still with the team.
Rathbone has already shown that he can dominate the farm level as he's had 52 pts in 51 games since his pro career debut. It's seems like he just can't get good opportunity as a LH defenseman with Quinn Hughes and Oliver Ekman-Larsson ahead of him on the payroll. Since he's not known for his shut down abilities (neither is Stillman by the way) he's not really the defenseman would want on your 3rd pair.
Rob Simpson had the opportunity to comment the matter after he entertained a conversation with the young fellow:
Simpson's convinced that it they keep him waiting, Rathbone will be asking for a trade out of Vancouver. The Canucks can't really afford a young defenseman making costly, but they definitely can't afford not making a change on their blue line, what's their play from there?
SOURCE: Vancouver Insider
| POLL | ||
What would a potential return look like for Rathbone? | ||
| Late pick | 47 | 8.9 % |
| Young player that has little to no NHL experience | 59 | 11.2 % |
| Keep him, give him icetime right now | 339 | 64.3 % |
| He�s in his place in the AHL, leave him down | 82 | 15.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
