Vancouver Canucks sign top defence prospect Jack Rathbone to entry level deal

Good news has come on the second day of Vancouver Canucks training camp.

With roughly 23 hours remaining in their three-day window to get him signed, the Canucks have locked up their top defence prospect Jack Rathbone, according to Rick Dhaliwal of TSN1040.

It was no secret that Rathbone always posed a bit of a flight risk — but that flight risk would have become much greater had he chosen not to sign during this three day window. You can read more about the situation in this week’s Monday Mailbag here.

Rathbone brings with him legitimate top-four upside and some are even suggesting that he would be an upgrade to the Canucks’ bottom pairing if he were to slot into the lineup right now.

The first year of Rathbone’s entry-level contract will be burned, but he will be ineligible to participate in the return to play. As per Rick Dhaliwal, Rathbone will fly out to Vancouver but will not travel with the team to Edmonton.

Here are more details on Rathbone’s contract from Thomas Drance of The Athletic:

The 21-year-old defenceman put up 31 points in 28 games with Harvard University this season. This is tremendous news for Canucks fans, and we’ll have a full deep dive into Rathbone’s game coming in the next few days.