Jack Rathbone | #3 | D

[Fred65]

7 minutes ago, Kootenay Gold said:

Not sure how you figure the Canucks have a surplus of LHD on the roster or in the prospect pool. I see Edler for maybe 1 or 2 more years max as a possible; after that they have Hughes, Juolevi and Rathbone, on the farm they have Brisbois and possibly Sautner if he re-signs with the Canucks and that is about it for left side D-men. All other left shot defensive prospects are likely years away if they make it at all to the NHL.

 

That's true but the way I look at it Vcr has 2 LHD who can play 1st and 2nd pairing which is what most good teams have. The third pairing is always the weak spot. In addition we have Edler for ....what 2 years. Personally I thought Sautner was an adequate third pairing D, but if not finding a 3rd pairing D is not difficult. Which leaves us OJ, STR,   ... IMO. We're certainly short of RHD. Myers is a 2nd pairing D and Harmonic ( if he resigns) a 3rd pairing ....IMO some might disagree, Vcr is short a 1st line RHD  and I'm not sold on Schmidt at all. I don't think we'll find a 1st line RHD in the draft and likely end up with a forward. To make a trade JB must prioritize his needs and the LHD are  at worse looking to be covered ... maybe in excess

[Alflives]

1 minute ago, Fred65 said:

That's true but the way I look at it Vcr has 2 LHD who can play 1st and 2nd pairing which is what most good teams have. The third pairing is always the weak spot. In addition we have Edler for ....what 2 years. Personally I thought Sautner was an adequate third pairing D, but if not finding a 3rd pairing D is not difficult. Which leaves us OJ, STR,   ... IMO. We're certainly short of RHD. Myers is a 2nd pairing D and Harmonic ( if he resigns) a 3rd pairing ....IMO some might disagree, Vcr is short a 1st line RHD  and I'm not sold on Schmidt at all. I don't think we'll find a 1st line RHD in the draft and likely end up with a forward. To make a trade JB must prioritize his needs and the LHD are  at worse looking to be covered ... maybe in excess

Would we trade the ED exempt Bone for another team’s RSD (26 or under; is a top four guy) who that team will likely lose in the ED?  

[Locke Lamora]

On 5/7/2021 at 11:13 AM, Locke Lamora said:

 

 

Not too much bulking required in my mind. 

Quoting my own post to illustrate that Rathbone is clearly thicker than Hughes, as well as being a bit taller. 
 

Jack doesn’t skip many gym days.

 

[SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME]

On 5/7/2021 at 10:35 AM, Locke Lamora said:

I don’t know about that. Looking at the most recent footage of him doing pre game warmups and his upper torso during media availability...Jack looks to be pretty solid and thick to me. Bet he’s close to 190 or even above.

Rathbone has also had a reputation for being one of the players who puts in the most time and work in the weight room, compared to his teammates, dating back to his prep school years at Dexter, and continuing into his time at Harvard. I’ve heard him described as a “gym rat” more than once, by people who followed him pretty closely.

[Locke Lamora]

1 hour ago, SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME said:

Rathbone has also had a reputation for being one of the players who puts in the most time and work in the weight room, compared to his teammates, dating back to his prep school years at Dexter, and continuing into his time at Harvard. I’ve heard him described as a “gym rat” more than once, by people who followed him pretty closely.

I think people get too focused on height sometimes. In my mind, as much as I love him, I think EP has more of a “size” issue than Rathbone. 190 (or more) pounds on Ratbone’s sub 6 foot frame is much less problematic than 176lbs this past season (pretty much the same as his rookie year) on 6’2” (6’3”?) EP that sees him knocked around a bit. Not every player has the genetics to pack on weight and muscle equally. Jack seems to have this ability and I think this will help make a “size” issue moot.

 

But I will even admit you can’t have an entire D-core of 5 foot somethings. 

 

 

[-Vintage Canuck-]

 

[DownUndaCanuck]

Training camp will really decide who starts and who doesn't but it looks like he was in Green's good books to end the season, maybe even ahead of Juolevi due to his offence.

 

We have to be smart and pair him with a very solid defensive veteran. Myers is probably the sounder defenceman over Schmidt to be honest, but I did like Juolevi-Myers at times during last season. Schmidt made far too many mistakes last year which could be dangerous playing with a rookie who likes to skate and attack, but Juolevi is relatively safe so Juolevi-Schmidt might be a nice 3rd pairing for us.

[Gollumpus]

Depending on circumstances, even if Rathbone shows very well in camp he still might wind up going to Abbotsford, solely because he is waivers exempt.

 

                                                  regards,  G.

[Podz19]

On 7/17/2021 at 10:36 AM, DownUndaCanuck said:

Training camp will really decide who starts and who doesn't but it looks like he was in Green's good books to end the season, maybe even ahead of Juolevi due to his offence.

 

We have to be smart and pair him with a very solid defensive veteran. Myers is probably the sounder defenceman over Schmidt to be honest, but I did like Juolevi-Myers at times during last season. Schmidt made far too many mistakes last year which could be dangerous playing with a rookie who likes to skate and attack, but Juolevi is relatively safe so Juolevi-Schmidt might be a nice 3rd pairing for us.

They sat Juolevi because apparently he was one of the worst hit by Covid. He lost alot of weight and strength. I think so long as Juolevi has a decent camp its his spot, Rathbone will be down the road as the first call up. He will get prime time in Abby to keep honing his game. Olli has to pass through waivers now, Rathbone doesn't so that will come into play. Good problem to have! Too much talent on LD!

[48MPHSlapShot]

At the end of the day the decision between Olli and Jack should be based on merit. Personally, if we're judging based purely on performance, I'd have Rathbone ahead of Juolevi, but we shall see.

[Kootenay Gold]

35 minutes ago, 48MPHSlapShot said:

At the end of the day the decision between Olli and Jack should be based on merit. Personally, if we're judging based purely on performance, I'd have Rathbone ahead of Juolevi, but we shall see.

Coaches and managers have spewed that merit based message for years. I guess that is what they think the fan base wants to hear. IMO. that is not true in a lot of cases. The very example of Rathbone being waiver exempt and Juolevi having to clear waivers leads me to believe that Rathbone will start the season in Abby and Juolevi will start in Vancouver assuming of course that both players come to camp and perform to expectations. My reasoning is that the Canucks will not want to risk losing a potential high end player to waivers after spending so much time and effort in his development and also that they can call Rathbone up due to any injuries that may happen. In the meantime he gets all the ice time he can handle down the road in Abby to further develop his overall game.

[48MPHSlapShot]

15 minutes ago, Kootenay Gold said:

Coaches and managers have spewed that merit based message for years. I guess that is what they think the fan base wants to hear. IMO. that is not true in a lot of cases. The very example of Rathbone being waiver exempt and Juolevi having to clear waivers leads me to believe that Rathbone will start the season in Abby and Juolevi will start in Vancouver assuming of course that both players come to camp and perform to expectations. My reasoning is that the Canucks will not want to risk losing a potential high end player to waivers after spending so much time and effort in his development and also that they can call Rathbone up due to any injuries that may happen. In the meantime he gets all the ice time he can handle down the road in Abby to further develop his overall game.

Green has generally been pretty consistent in assigning players roles on the team based on overall merit. If he feels Rathbone has beaten out Juolevi for the spot in training camp, Rathbone will get the spot and Juolevi will be kept up as a spare, regardless of how CDC feels about it.

[Kootenay Gold]

29 minutes ago, 48MPHSlapShot said:

Green has generally been pretty consistent in assigning players roles on the team based on overall merit. If he feels Rathbone has beaten out Juolevi for the spot in training camp, Rathbone will get the spot and Juolevi will be kept up as a spare, regardless of how CDC feels about it.

We shall see come training camp and the start of the season.

 

 

[Googlie]

53 minutes ago, 48MPHSlapShot said:

Green has generally been pretty consistent in assigning players roles on the team based on overall merit. If he feels Rathbone has beaten out Juolevi for the spot in training camp, Rathbone will get the spot and Juolevi will be kept up as a spare, regardless of how CDC feels about it.

Absolutely.  Look no further than Stecher forcing his way onto the team a few years ago, and Hoglander last year.  Wouldn't surprise me if Rathbone were this year's Stecher (and Klimovich this year's Hoglander for that matter)

 

Nice problem to have!!

 

[filthycanuck]

2 hours ago, 48MPHSlapShot said:

Green has generally been pretty consistent in assigning players roles on the team based on overall merit. If he feels Rathbone has beaten out Juolevi for the spot in training camp, Rathbone will get the spot and Juolevi will be kept up as a spare, regardless of how CDC feels about it.

Yes training camp will decide who gets in opening night. I know many CDCers are already pencilling in Rathbone for the opening roster because of his upside, but I wouldn't go that far. People are enamoured but Rathbone's potential but if you were to compare Juolevi's and Rathbones seasons in totality, Juolevi had the better year, people just need to have a bias just because the other guy has a more dynamic style. Juolevi and Rathbone are two completely different players, doesn't necessarily mean one or the other can't be an important part of a team. Before Hamonic came back, Juolevi had a nice run of games where he was quite good for the most part. Defintely a step forward in his development.

[Locke Lamora]

I fully expect Rathbone to prove he is ahead of OJ on the depth chart coming out of training camp and pre-season. Not an OJ hater at all…and he made some progress last year.

 

But other than size, Jack has more tools in his tool box.

[48MPHSlapShot]

44 minutes ago, filthycanuck said:

Yes training camp will decide who gets in opening night. I know many CDCers are already pencilling in Rathbone for the opening roster because of his upside, but I wouldn't go that far. People are enamoured but Rathbone's potential but if you were to compare Juolevi's and Rathbones seasons in totality, Juolevi had the better year, people just need to have a bias just because the other guy has a more dynamic style. Juolevi and Rathbone are two completely different players, doesn't necessarily mean one or the other can't be an important part of a team. Before Hamonic came back, Juolevi had a nice run of games where he was quite good for the most part. Defintely a step forward in his development.

I'm of the mindset that Rathbone has a more NHL ready game as of this moment. Both players have been given sheltered minutes to start, but I feel Juolevi may face some challenges as he's expected to play more against tougher opponents. 

 

If both players were to reach their respective ceilings, Juolevi may very well end up the more important player, as he would be playing some significant shutdown minutes. That said, I think Juolevi has less chance of reaching his ceiling than Rathbone, whereas not only do I feel Rathbone has a better chance, but that he's closer to hitting that ceiling as well.

 

We'll let training camp decide.

Edited July 30, 2021 by 48MPHSlapShot

[KyGuy123]

Interesting battle for that bottom LHD position. Curious to see if Juolevi puts in the work knowing this season is his shot to show why the Canucks took him 5th overall. 
 

I think Rathbone is going to show him up and have an outstanding year. He looked like a great player last year and it was my first time being able to see him. He’s a top 3/4 Dman in his prime.

Edited July 30, 2021 by KyGuy123

[Locke Lamora]

7 hours ago, KyGuy123 said:

I think Rathbone is going to show him up and have an outstanding year. He looked like a great player last year and it was my first time being able to see him. He’s a top 3/4 Dman in his prime.

I’m high on Rathbone too, but I’d take issue that he looked like a  “great player” in his short stint last season. Looked like he belonged yes, but I also think he really played it safe, which was pretty smart on his part. Had that really nice snipe goal, but what really impressed me was his ability to pivot on the defensive to angle off rushing players. 

 

I think with a training camp and pre-season under his belt we will see him lug the puck more and generally just put more of a stamp on the team with his array of abilities. Dude has a big slapper from the point, which I don’t recall him using much.

 

So excited for him and it would be a shock if he didn’t make the team out of camp. But not a disaster if he doesn’t either. He wouldn’t be in Abby for long.

[Googlie]

The smartest thing Juolevi could do right now is to practice being a right D at every opportunity.  For the next few years the left will be pretty clogged with OEL, Huggy and Bones.  OJ might start the season as 3rd left D, but won't finish it there.  Rathbone will.