The captain is off to Cleveland.
Defenceman Sam Ruopp, who wore the 'C' for the Prince George Cougars the past three seasons, was called up Thursday to the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League after signing an amateur tryout contract.
The Monsters are the AHL affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets, who drafted Ruopp in the fifth round of the 2015 NHL draft. Cleveland (38-28-4-4) has won eight of its last 10 games but won't make the playoffs and has just two games left in the season.
Ruopp's WHL season ended two weeks ago when the Cougars were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in a six-game series by the Portland Winterhawks. In five seasons with the Cougars, he collected 16 goals and 75 assists for 91 points and 346 penalty minutes.
Ruopp had four goals and 20 assists and finished with a plus-24 rating in his final season with the Cats, who picked the native of Zehner, Sask., in the fourth round of the 2011 WHL bantam draft.
He could be in the Monsters' lineup tonight, wearing No. 52, when they host Jansen Harkins and the Manitoba Moose. Harkins, Ruopp's Cougars teammate, joined the Moose last week.
Ruopp is the seventh Cougar picked up by an AHL team since their WHL season ended. That list also includes defencemen Josh Anderson (San Antonio Rampage) and Brendan Guhke (Rochester Americans), and forwards Jesse Gabrielle (Providence Bruins), Colby McAuley (San Jose Barracuda) and Radovan Bondra (Rockford IceHogs).
