AHL Belleville Senators

Rippon and LeBlanc Join Belleville Senators on Amateur Tryouts

March 15, 2021 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Belleville Senators News Release


The Belleville Senators have signed two defensemen to Amateur Tryout Agreements. Merrick Rippon joins the Senators following three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League, spending most of his time with the Ottawa 67's organization. Olivier LeBlanc joins the Senators after spending three seasons with the University of New Brunswick Reds of USports and five seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, splitting time between the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles and the Saint John Sea Dogs.

Rippon is quite familiar to Ottawa-area fans as he has suited up for parts of three seasons with the 67's in the OHL. He has a total of 54 points in 168 regular-season games played in the league and was a big part of a long playoff run in 2019, which saw the 67's sweep their first three playoff series on route to a 4-2 series loss in the J. Ross Robertson Cup finals. Rippon notched four points in 17 games played through the playoffs. The 20-year old was on track for a career year before the season came to an abrupt halt, recording 13 points in 36 games played.

LeBlanc played alongside fellow Senators Drake Batherson and Clark Bishop during his time with the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles of the QMJHL. During parts of three seasons with the Saint John Sea Dogs, he also suited up alongside Senator Thomas Chabot. Olivier was captain of the Screaming Eagles in 2016-17, taking over the 'C' from Bishop, who was team captain for two years prior. LeBlanc notched 164 points in 291 regular-season games, splitting time between Cape Breton and Saint John. He added 18 playoff points in 28 games played. After a successful QMJHL career which saw him get drafted 197th overall in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, LeBlanc joined the prestigious University of New Brunswick Men's Hockey program. He was a member of the Reds' USports National Championship team in 2019. During his time with the team, he recorded 54 points in 85 games played.

The Belleville Senators take on the Laval Rocket tonight at 5:00 pm ET. Tune in to the game at ahltv.com.

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