Prince George, B.C.- A seventh member of the Prince George Cougars is headed to the pros! 1996-born defenceman Sam Ruopp has joined the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters (the Columbus Blue Jackets AHL affiliate) on an Amateur Tryout contract.

Originally selected by the Cougars in the fourth round of the 2011 WHL Bantam Draft, Ruopp went on to play parts of five seasons with the Cougars. In 258 career regular season games, the only three-time captain of the club scored 16 goals to go along with 75 assists and 346 penalty minutes to go along with a +35 rating. This season he matched a season high with four goals while adding 20 assists, 51 penalty minutes and a +24 rating in 55 games. He has captured the Eric Brewer award in three straight seasons which is given the Cougars Top Defensive Player. He was also the 2015-16 recipient of the Michael Fogolin Memorial Award which is selected annually by the players. He was selected in the fifth round of the 2015 NHL Draft by the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Cleveland Monsters are next in action tomorrow night at home when they welcome the Manitoba Moose at 4 PM local time. He is listed as number 52 on the Monsters’ roster.

Sam Ruopp becomes the seventh Cougar in a span of nine days to make the jump to the American Hockey League. Below is a complete list of the Cougars AHL participants.

F – Jesse Gabrielle (Providence Bruins)
F – Jansen Harkins (Manitoba Moose)
F – Colby McAuley (San Jose Barracuda)
F – Radovan Bondra (Rockford IceHogs)
D – Brendan Guhle (Rochester Americans)
D – Josh Anderson (San Antonio Rampage)
D – Sam Ruopp (Cleveland Monsters)