The 22-year-old defenseman, who has never been drafted by a team from the National Hockey League, thus made use of his NHL out-clause in his two-year deal with HC Fribourg-Gottéron signed in December, 2016.
Rathgeb, a product of SC Langenthal, already played some games overseas. In 2013, he joined OHL's Plymouth Whalers for two years, before he returned to Switzerland to make his National League debut with HCFG in 2015-16.
For the Dragons, the 1.85 meter tall defender suited up in a total of 143 games, in which he managed to put up 29 goals and 67 assists for 96 points. This season, he was able to record eight goals and 20 assists in 38 games.
Honoured to sign my first NHL contract with the @NYIslanders . Big thanks to my family, @fedeboschung and everyone else who's helped me along this journey! Especially a big thanks to @fribourggotteron who belived in me and gave me a chance to develope myself for the last 3 years! pic.twitter.com/TFXn9b2JXv
— Yannick Rathgeb (@yanratgb) April 6, 2018
NOTE: Don't know what an "entry-level contract" is? Find out more about that here.Last Update: 06 April 2018, 07:24 PM | rlu*
