Where Are They Now: Merrick Rippon
Every winning hockey team is built from the back end out. Once a squad has their goalie in place, their next step is finding the core of blue liners that can hold down the fort, and help steady their team on the quest for a championship. It is a formula that no one escapes from, and the 2019-20 Ottawa 67’s were no exception.
Among the Barber Poles’ group of staunch defenders in that record-setting, yet heartbreaking campaign was Merrick Rippon. Playing for his hometown team, the 6’1, 198lbs defender was something of an unsung hero during the greatest season in 67’s history. He may not have equalled the point totals of some of his compatriots, but Rippon was a key cog in the Ottawa machine, throughout his tenure with the Barber Poles.
After coming up through the Ottawa Jr. 67’s, and Jr. Senators AAA programs, Rippon was drafted by the Kitchener Rangers in 2016. Following another CCHL season in his hometown, Rippon’s OHL rights were traded to the Mississauga Steelheads, where he began his OHL career for the 2017-18 season.
As a member of the Steelheads, Rippon tallied his first career points against the North Bay Battalion, in the form of two assists, on October 20, 2017. His first OHL goal came against the Bulldogs, in Hamilton, on December 3 of that year, and it wasn’t long following the first marker that Rippon would return home.
Traded to Ottawa during the Christmas break, Rippon notched an assist in his 67’s debut, and scored his first goal in the Barber Poles in just his second game, against the Windsor Spitfires. All told, Rippon kicked off his 67’s career with five points in his first six games, and finished the campaign with a total of four goals, and 19 assists, for 23 points in 68 games.
Year Two in Ottawa saw Rippon settle in, and put up the best goal totals of his OHL career. The defender continued to lock things down in his end of the ice, while also finding the scoresheet, in the form of a career-high six goals, and 18 assists, for 22 points, in 64 games. Rippon also heard his name called in the playoffs for the first time, scoring his first career postseason goal against the Bulldogs — funnily enough — and adding three assists in 17 games, during Ottawa’s run to the OHL Final.
Rippon was well on his way to a career season in 2019-20, despite only suiting up for 36 games. He recorded a goal, and 12 assists, for 13 points, before the pandemic ended the campaign, and Ottawa’s aspirations of a Memorial Cup run.
From there, Rippon was put in a similar position as many of his fellow OHLers. With the pandemic unfortunately nixing any hopes of a 2020-21 season, he signed a professional tryout agreement with the American Hockey League’s Belleville Senators — the Ottawa Senators’ minor league affiliate — dressing for his first professional game on March 24, 2021.
Rippon soon found his next hockey home, committing to the Acadia Axemen (U Sports) on September 5, 2021. While the pandemic continues to present challenges as teams, and leagues attempt to navigate the COVID age, Rippon has transitioned nicely to his university career, so far posting three assists through 18 games in his first season.
A stalwart on the 67’s blue line, it should come as a surprise to no one that the local kid is finding continued success during his hockey journey on Canada’s east coast.
