Rathje was a skilled defensive-minded rearguard. He was a huge piece of business and used his tremendous reach effectively. With the Sharks, he often played on the same pairing as Marcus Ragnarsson.
He was not typical blue line big man. He had no mean streak and he was never going put a guy into the first row with thunderous bodychecks. He was very strong, able to handle top power forwards. But the strength of his game was his surprising skating ability, blessed with mobility and a burst of speed. Combined with excellent positioning Rathje could keep up with the top speedsters. Unfortunately, Rathje's career was cut short by chronic hip and back problems. He never officially retired and spent 2007 to 2010 on the Flyers' long-term injured reserve list.
S | Team | League | GP | G | A | TP | PIM | +/- | POST | GP | G | A | TP | PIM | +/- | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1989-90 | Sherwood Park Kings U18 AAA | AMHL | 33* | 6* | 11* | 17* | 30* | -* | | | Playoffs | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | - |
1990-91 | Medicine Hat Tigers | WHL | 64* | 1* | 16* | 17* | 28* | -* | | | Playoffs | 12 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | - |
1991-92 | Medicine Hat Tigers | WHL | 67* | 11* | 23* | 34* | 99* | -* | | | Playoffs | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - |
1992-93 | Medicine Hat Tigers | WHL | 57* | 2* | 37* | 49* | 103* | -* | | | Playoffs | 10 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 12 | - |
1992-93 | Kansas City Blades | IHL | 0* | 0* | 0* | 0* | 0* | -* | | | Playoffs | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | -3 |
1992-93 | Canada U20 | WJC-20 | 7* | 2* | 2* | 4* | 14* | -1* | | | |||||||
1993-94 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 47* | 1* | 9* | 10* | 59* | -9* | | | Playoffs | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
1993-94 | Kansas City Blades | IHL | 6* | 0* | 2* | 2* | 0* | -4* | | | |||||||
1994-95 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 42* | 2* | 7* | 9* | 29* | -1* | | | Playoffs | 11 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 4 | -15 |
1994-95 | Kansas City Blades | IHL | 6* | 0* | 1* | 1* | 7* | -3* | | | |||||||
1995-96 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 27* | 0* | 7* | 7* | 14* | -16* | | | |||||||
1995-96 | Kansas City Blades | IHL | 36* | 6* | 11* | 17* | 34* | 3* | | | |||||||
1996-97 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 31* | 0* | 8* | 8* | 21* | -1* | | | |||||||
1997-98 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 81* | 3* | 12* | 15* | 59* | -4* | | | Playoffs | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | -3 |
1998-99 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 82* | 5* | 9* | 14* | 36* | 15* | | | Playoffs | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -6 |
1999-00 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 66* | 2* | 14* | 16* | 31* | -2* | | | Playoffs | 12 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 1 |
2000-01 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 81* | 0* | 11* | 11* | 48* | 7* | | | Playoffs | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
2001-02 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 52* | 5* | 12* | 17* | 48* | 23* | | | Playoffs | 12 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 5 |
2002-03 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 82* | 7* | 22* | 29* | 48* | -19* | | | |||||||
2003-04 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 80* | 2* | 17* | 19* | 46* | 18* | | | Playoffs | 17 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 13 | 1 |
2004-05 | Did not play | * | * | * | * | * | * | | | ||||||||
2005-06 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 79* | 3* | 21* | 24* | 46* | 22* | | | Playoffs | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | -1 |
2006-07 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 18* | 0* | 1* | 1* | 6* | -7* | | | |||||||
2007-08 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 0* | 0* | 0* | 0* | 0* | 0* | | | |||||||
2008-09 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 0* | 0* | 0* | 0* | 0* | 0* | | | |||||||
2009-10 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 0* | 0* | 0* | 0* | 0* | 0* | | |
S | Team | League | GP | G | A | TP | PIM | +/- | POST | GP | G | A | TP | PIM | +/- | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1990-91 | Team Alberta | CWG | -* | -* | -* | -* | -* | -* | | | |||||||
1991-92 | Canada U18 | Phoenix Cup | 6* | 0* | 2* | 2* | 8* | -* | | |
League | Years | GP | G | A | TP | PPG | PIM | +/- | | | Years | GP | G | A | TP | PPG | PIM | +/- |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AMHL (AEHL U18) | 1 | 33* | 6* | 11* | 17* | 0.52* | 30* | -* | | | 1 | 6 | 1 * | 1 * | 2 * | 0.33 * | 2 * | - * |
CWG | 1 | -* | -* | -* | -* | -* | -* | -* | | | 0 | * | * | * | * | * | * | |
Phoenix Cup (Hlinka Gretzky Cup) | 1 | 6* | 0* | 2* | 2* | 0.33* | 8* | -* | | | 0 | * | * | * | * | * | * | |
IHL | 4 | 48* | 6* | 14* | 20* | 0.42* | 41* | -4* | | | 1 | 5 | 0 * | 0 * | 0 * | 0.00 * | 12 * | -3 * |
NHL | 16 | 768* | 30* | 150* | 180* | 0.23* | 491* | 26* | | | 9 | 77 | 9 * | 14 * | 23 * | 0.30 * | 51 * | -15 * |
WHL | 3 | 188* | 14* | 76* | 100* | 0.53* | 230* | -* | | | 3 | 26 | 3 * | 8 * | 11 * | 0.42 * | 16 * | - * |
WJC-20 | 1 | 7* | 2* | 2* | 4* | 0.57* | 14* | -1* | | | 0 | * | * | * | * | * | * |
Cult/Star player for San Jose Sharks
Career transactions
- 1992-06-20 • Selected 3rd overall in the NHL Entry Draft by the San Jose Sharks
- 2005-08-02 • Signed to a five-year contract by the Phildelphia Flyers
• Missed majority of 1996-97 due to groin injury vs. Dallas Stars, 1996-11-08
• Missed majority of 2006-07 due to a back injury
• Missed entire 2007-08 due to a groin injury
After retiring, he remained near San Jose and invested in several restaurants. He also invested in a trucking company servicing Alberta's oil fields.