Defensive prospect Jack Rathbone focused on capitalizing on fresh start with Penguins

One way or another, the future is bright for Jack Rathbone.

First, he’s a professional hockey player, a lucrative gig by any measure, even if you’re toiling in the American Hockey League.

And second, he is plugging away at a psychology degree from Harvard, an institution of some repute.

“Still taking classes in the summers,” Rathbone said. “We’ve got a few guys that turned pro right around when I did there. Go back and train and skate in that area and take some classes.”

But Rathbone isn’t looking that far down the road just yet. His immediate focus is on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and their hopes to secure a playoff spot in the final weeks of the regular season.

“I try and just put some consistent games together here at the end,” Rathbone said during a practice March 16 in Cranberry. “Whatever happens, happens. Definitely excited to hopefully make a playoff run here. Then that’s kind of the only thing my mind is on right now.”

The left-handed Rathbone (5-foot-11, 182 pounds) has been one of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s steadiest defensemen this season since he was acquired via trade early in the regular season.

On Oct. 17, Pittsburgh Penguins management acquired Rathbone and forward Karel Plasek — who left the organization quickly thereafter — from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for veteran defenseman Mark Friedman and forward prospect Ty Glover.

From the Penguins’ perspective, the main motivation for the trade was to jettison Friedman to avoid a logjam that could be created by the AHL’s rules for the number of veterans who can inhabit a lineup.

For Rathbone, the trade represented a cliched — but needed — change in scenery.

A fourth-round pick (No. 95 overall) of the Canucks in the 2017 NHL Draft, Rathbone spent parts of four seasons with the Canucks organization and displayed plenty of intrigue, specifically during the 2021-22 season with the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks when he posted 40 points (10 goals, 30 assists) in only 39 games.

But that intrigue did not translate into much at the NHL level as he only appeared in 28 games with the Canucks and recorded five points (two goals, three assists).

“I have nothing but good things to say about the people in that organization,” Rathbone said. “They gave me a chance to realize the dream of playing in the NHL. But definitely excited about the move and a fresh start.”

With Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Rathbone has appeared in 59 games and scored 18 points (six goals, 12 assists) and has been a contributing factor to that club being in a position to qualify for the postseason.

What a scope from Rathbone pic.twitter.com/cFEQNBeC5w

— Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (@WBSPenguins) December 14, 2023

“He’s a pretty incredible skater who can move,” Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins coach J.D. Forrest said. “His movement is great. He’s got a really hard shot, a bomb of a shot. He competes, he’s got some offensive upside. He’s scored some big goals for us this year. And he can make some high-end plays.

“It’s one of those things where he can do it, so he kind of tries to do it a lot. And sometimes, you’ve just got to make the right decision. But he’s been good for us.”

The 24-year-old native of Boston is in the final year of a three-year entry-level contract and is a pending restricted free agent this upcoming offseason. Nothing is guaranteed, but there certainly seems to be plenty of motivation for management to re-sign him.

At the same time, there is a surplus of left-handed defensemen throughout the organization.

Rathbone professes he is not focused on that. Just the future.

The immediate future.

“That’s the last thing you think about,” Rathbone said. “I feel comfortable on either side, but that’s the last thing you think about. You think about trying to piece together some good games, some consistent games going into the playoffs.”

Note: The Pittsburgh Penguins assigned rookie goaltender Joel Blomqvist to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Wednesday.

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