[1] Playing two years at Hotchkiss, Rafai experienced a growth spurt; in light of this, he went undrafted in his debut class of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s 2016 draft.
[1][2] He then played one season in the United States Hockey League, split across the Omaha Lancers and the Des Moines Buccaneers, before enrolling at Harvard University.
At the conclusion of his season with the Marlies, the Maple Leafs signed Rifai to a two-year, entry-level NHL contract on July 1, 2023.
On February 18, 2024, Rifai was recalled by the Maple Leafs on an emergency basis, after a suspension to Morgan Rielly and the absence of three other team defencemen in the preceding days (Mark Giordano from the recent death of his father, and Conor Timmins and William Lagesson to injury).
[7] He made his NHL debut the following afternoon, recording 11:33 of ice time and 1 shot on the bottom defence pairing in a 4–2 win over the St. Louis Blues.