Rathbone is a raw, confident puck-moving blueliner. He has impressive vision, smart and solid playmaking ability. He is a smooth and powerful skater. Excellent footwork and all-direction mobility allow him to be elusive while skating the puck up ice. He can make up mistakes with his impressive skating and getting back to break up plays defensively. Sees where he is limited and factors risk before making a play. Not a big player but physically withstands hits and the forecheck, fighting tooth and nail to retain the puck. Handles himself well under pressure. His game is based off intelligence, and utilizing his mobility to be efficient. He stays on the hesitant side when rushing the puck and is more of the pass-first type. He slings the puck with authority and can facilitate accurate long range breakouts. Has a cannon of a shot and lets his one-timer go with good timing. A real weapon from the point on the powerplay as both a passer and triggerman. He is great at walking the blue line with his head up and getting shots through. Not physical and can be caught overusing his stick as his primary defensive tool. He knows where he needs to be to defend and push opponents away from his crease but shows mixed results. Room to grow in his defensive game. Also, needs to add considerable strength to his frame. Not going to jump to the NHL very quickly, but a nice project pick who has good puck-moving upside. He is an offensive threat and extremely good first pass from the back end.