Canucks top prospect Jack Rathbone discharged from hospital after scary hit

It was a scary scene in the AHL Wednesday night when Abbotsford Canucks defenseman Jack Rathbone was hit into the end boards in a game against the Bakersfield Condors. Rathbone was stretchered off the ice after a long delay and taken to the hospital for further evaluation. Thankfully, it’s good news. Rathbone was not only discharged Wednesday night, but is also expected to travel with Abbotsford to Colorado Thursday. The Canucks play the Colorado Eagles over the weekend.

Recently the AHL Player of the Week, the 22-year-old defenseman was also ranked as the Canucks’ top prospect by Scott Wheeler of The Athletic last month. Selected 95th overall in 2017, he exploded onto the college scene at Harvard during 2018-19 and is having an outstanding year — when healthy — for Abbotsford. With 21 points, he sits fifth on the team in scoring despite playing only 19 AHL games, as he’s had to deal with a COVID diagnosis, shoulder injury and time bouncing back and forth from the NHL squad.

In this case, if he has avoided major injury as it appears, Canucks fans can breathe a huge sigh of relief. Hopefully, he can jump back into the lineup soon or even make another appearance at the NHL level. His last game with Vancouver came in November when he logged 16 minutes against the Colorado Avalanche.