If Jack Rathbone was just your average teenager, few people would question the path that he’s currently paving. The West Roxbury native is planning on returning next year for his senior year at the Dexter School, one of the top prep schools in New England, and is in the process of gaining admission to Harvard University for the fall of 2018.
Hard to argue with that, right?
But if you’re one of the top hockey players in your age group and are eligible for next week’s NHL draft in Chicago, as Rathbone is, some of your potential employers might have some questions. For the route that Rathbone — a puck-moving defenseman ranked 57th among North Americans in the final Central Scouting rankings — is embarking upon is not always the quickest to the NHL.
In Rathbone’s time at the scouting combine in Buffalo, where he met with representatives from 18 NHL teams, that was foremost in the executives’ minds.
“That was honestly the main question that every team asked me. Just, ‘What’s your plan for next year?’” said Rathbone.
He could leave Dexter for the USHL, where he would be competing against older and more accomplished players and where he did play a handful games for Youngstown after his Dexter season last spring. But Rathbone plans to stay local when next season rolls around, and he has his reasons. The biggest one is his younger brother Teddy, who was diagnosed as autistic at a young age. Teddy is 8 years old, making good strides with his speech therapy and flourishing in an integrated classroom at the Joyce Kilmer School. For that reason, Jack would prefer to stick around for a while.
“He’s a big piece of my life, and I’m going to be honest, it would be tough to leave him for seven months out of the year at this stage,” said Jack, the oldest of Jason and Beth Rathbone’s three children. “He’s probably my best friend. So being able to stay home, being able to complete my four years at Dexter — they took a financial risk on me and my sister (Jayne), we wouldn’t be able to afford an education there — being able to finish my four years and getting my diploma, that means a lot to me and my family.”
Jason Rathbone, who played four years at Boston College and coached Jack with the South Shore Kings and Cape Cod Whalers, said Jack has played a big role in helping him and his wife in the everyday care of Teddy.
“Jack has helped my wife and me so much with Teddy,” said Jason. “It could be as severe as Teddy having a seizure and Jack has been there to help him get on his side and deal with it. Or it could be as simple as going swimming with him. We’ve got a little in-ground pool in the back, and Teddy always wants to go swimming, and my wife and I can’t always be there. Jack is always willing to hop in the pool with him and be with him.”
Whatever he gives to Teddy, Jack said, he gets back more in return.
“I hope to be a role model for him, but I don’t think he can learn any more from me than I learn from him,” said Jack. “His personality and the attitude that he brings to everyday life, he gives me a new perspective. He’s what drives me every day to be able to chase the dream of playing in the NHL one day because I know that he can’t. It’s tough to see. But at the same time, to see him at a family skate at Dexter, and just bringing him out on the ice, just little moments like that to see how happy he is, it’s what drives me to become the best player possible.”
And the motivation that Teddy’s been giving seems to be working. After posting 16 goals and 19 assists in 22 games for Dexter, Jack jumped 20 spots in the Central Scouting rankings from the midterm rankings to the final ones. He also showed up well at the physical testing at the combine, finishing tied for first in the pull-ups and posting another top-10 finish in the bench press.
A couple of scouts contacted by the Herald, one from the Eastern Conference and one from the Western, both had him pegged as a third-rounder. Rathbone has heard he could be selected anywhere from the second to the fourth round. His coach at Dexter, Dan Donato, believes that if Rathbone was 6-foot-2 instead of 5-foot-10, there would be little doubt that he’d be a first-rounder, his puck-moving and skating skills are that good. Still, regardless of size, it’s a skill set that’s in high demand these days in the evolving NHL.
But when Donato refers to Rathbone as “All-World,” which he does more than once in a conversation, he’s speaking as much about Rathbone off the ice as on it.
“He comes from a great family, great upbringing and I never have to worry about pushing him,” said Donato. “He’ll push himself. And with his relationship with his younger brother, I think it gives him this compassion and patience that makes him a great leader. He’s great with some of the younger players. It’s part of the reason why he was a captain as a junior.”
Making the decision to return to Dexter for his senior season was also made easier because his good friend, Ryan Donato — Dan’s nephew and Harvard coach Ted Donato’s son — took the same route three years ago, and it didn’t seem to hurt his development. A second-round pick of the Bruins in 2014, Donato is coming off a terrific sophomore season with the Crimson, in which he notched 21 goals and 19 assists in 36 games. Donato set the example for the young Rathbone when, after being drafted by the B’s, he returned to Dexter for his final year.
“He showed it when I was a freshman. Every single day he came to work,” said Rathbone. “His preparation, no matter what team we were playing, was detailed, and I learned from that my freshman year, and I hope to bring that same kind of attitude to my senior year at Dexter.”
Beyond Dexter, Rathbone will take it one step at a time once he gets to Harvard.
“I’ll make that decision when it comes with whatever team drafts me,” he said. “My dream has been to play in the NHL, so I think there’s no doubt that it’s an incredible opportunity. If that means going (to Harvard) for two years and then coming back to get a degree, or going for three or four years, then so be it. But I’ll make that decision when it comes time.”
For now, though, Rathbone will follow his own path. And, yes, it is one that is hard to argue with.
