Warning: Some readers may find the subject matter of this article disturbing.
Jack Rathbone is one of the best people we’ve ever dealt with in the sports world and it’s just horrible to see him be stretchered off the ice for the second time in as many seasons.
You may remember last season when Rathbone was hit from behind and sent head-first into the boards on a dirty hit and was motionless.
Tonight, he was once again laying motionless on the ice but was communicating with the emergency personnel and was able to move his arms and give his teammates a thumbs-up before being stretchered off the ice.
The game was postponed and went to intermission early as there was 11:01 remaining in the first period. The teams left the ice and returned to play the remainder of the first period before a quick break into the second period.
Here’s the collision that caused Rathbone’s injury:
For live updates, our Cody Severtson has a Twitter thread going tonight.
We have reached out to Abbotsford’s public relations team and will surely be updating you when we hear of any news on the injury. We’re hoping for the best for one of the best people in the sport.
If anything comes to us, we will update it here in the article.
Update 9:46 PM: The Abbotsford Canucks tweeted out the following update on Rathbone’s status: