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Brodie Merrill

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Brodie Merrill
Born (1981-11-05) November 5, 1981 (age 43)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
NationalityCanadian
Height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight205 pounds (93 kg)
ShootsLeft
PositionDefense/LSM (Field), Transition (Box)
NCAA teamGeorgetown (2005)
NLL draft1st overall, 2005
Portland LumberJax
NLL team
Former teams
San Diego Seals
Toronto Rock
Philadelphia Wings
Edmonton Rush
Portland LumberJax
MLL teamsHamilton Nationals
Rochester Rattlers
Baltimore Bayhawks
Boston Cannons
PLL team
Former teams
Cannons
Chaos
Waterdogs
MSL teamBrampton Excelsiors
Pro career2005–2023
Career highlights

NCAA:

  • 2x USILA First Team All-American (2004-05)
  • 2x Tewaaraton Award nominee (2004-05)
  • 2x First Team All-ECAC (2004-05)
  • USILA Schmeisser Award (2005)
  • ECAC Defensive Player of the Year (2005)

MLL:

  • 3x MLL Champion (2005, 2008, 2009)
  • MLL Rookie of the Year (2005)
  • 7x MLL All-Star
  • 6x MLL Defensive Player of the Year (2006-11)

NLL:

  • Rookie of the Year (2006)
  • Defensive Player of the Year (2006)
  • 3x Transition Player of the Year (2009-10, 2017)
  • 9x All Pro

PLL:

  • PLL All-Star (2019)
  • Jimmy Regan Teammate Award (2022)
    • LSM of the Year Award named in his honor**

All-Time Lacrosse Records:

  • Most career ground balls, PLL/MLL
  • Most career loose balls, NLL
  • Most career Defensive Player of the Year awards
  • Most career games played, PLL/MLL
  • Most seasons played in a career


International:

  • 2x World Lacrosse Championships Best Defenseman (2006, 2010)
  • 3x All World Team (2006, 2010, 2014)
Medal record
Representing  Canada
Men's lacrosse
World Lacrosse Championship
Winner 2006 London
Winner 2014 Denver
Runner-up 2010 Manchester
Runner-up 2018 Netanya
Runner-up 2023 San Diego
World Indoor Lacrosse Championship
Winner 2007 Halifax
Winner 2011 Prague
Winner 2015 Onondaga

Brodie Merrill (born November 5, 1981) is a Canadian former professional lacrosse player. Merrill is recognized by the Premier Lacrosse League as having revolutionized the LSM position, and is the namesake for the Brodie Merrill LSM of the Year Award, being the only active PLL player to have an award named after them. Merrill is widely regarded as one of the greatest defensemen in lacrosse history, in both the indoor and outdoor game.[1]

Early life

Merrill was born in Montreal to Peter and Patricia, where he grew up playing hockey, soccer, and baseball. He has an older brother, Patrick, and a younger sister Tory. His family moved to Orangeville at the age of eight, in part due to the Quebec seccession movement.[2][3]

High school career

Merrill attended the Salisbury School in Connecticut. While attending Salisbury, he was a standout lacrosse player, and was named the New England Defensive Player of the Year, was selected to the All-New England team, and was selected as a First Team High School All-American.

College career

Merrill attended Georgetown University from 2002 to 2005. During his final two years, he was a First-team All-American, and won the Schmeisser Award in his senior year for defensive player of the year. During his final two seasons, Merrill was a Tewaaraton Award finalist, first team All-American and All-ECAC player, and won the William Corcoran Memorial Trophy for team MVP. Additionally, he was the ECAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2005 and finished his collegiate career with 250 ground balls, a Georgetown record for non-faceoff specialists.[4]

Professional career

NLL career

Merrill (left) in 2009

Merrill was the first player taken overall in the 2005 National Lacrosse League Draft by the Portland LumberJax, and in 2006 was named both the NLL's Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. During the 2009 NLL season, he was named a starter to the All-Star Game.[5]

When the LumberJax left Portland at the end of the 2009 season, the league held a dispersal draft. Merrill was selected with the first overall pick in the draft by the Edmonton Rush.

On August 9, 2011, he was traded to the Philadelphia Wings, along with Rush forwards Dean Hill, Mike McLellan, and Edmonton's 41st selection in the 2011 entry draft, and the 4th round selection in 2013. In return, Philadelphia sent Athan Iannucci with teammates Alex Turner and Brodie McDonald, along with Philadelphia's first round draft picks in 2012, 2013 and 2014.[6]

On November 29, 2018, Brodie was signed by the San Diego Seals where he was named captain.

On February 22, 2020, Merrill became the NLL's all time loose ball leader.[7]

Merrill announced his retirement from professional lacrosse on September 13, 2023.[8]

MLL career

Merrill was the MLL Rookie of the Year in 2005 as a member of the Baltimore Bayhawks. From 2006 to 2007, he played for the Rochester Rattlers. For four consecutive years he was awarded the Major League Lacrosse Defensive Player of the Year Awards.[9] He then helped the Toronto Nationals win their first MLL championship in their inaugural season, and won the defensive player of the year award for a record fourth consecutive year. Merrill is the all-time ground ball leader in the MLL.[10]

PLL career

In 2019, Merrill joined Paul Rabil’s new Premier Lacrosse League as a member of the Chaos Lacrosse Club.

On March 11, 2021, Merrill was selected first overall by Cannons Lacrosse Club, the reincarnation of the Boston Cannons, in the PLL Expansion Draft.[11]

Merrill played in his 200th professional field lacrosse game on August 21, 2021, the most of any player in history. [12]

Canadian Box career

Junior

Merrill played his junior lacrosse with the Orangeville Northmen of the OLA Junior A Lacrosse League. In 2000, Merrill lead the Northmen to a league championship. In 2001, Merrill was awarded the "John McCauley Award" for Best Defensive Player, and shared the "B.W. Evans Award" for Top Graduating Player with Dan Bowman the following year.[13]

Senior

Merrill began his senior career with the Coquitlam Adanacs of the Western Lacrosse Association, and later the Brampton Excelsiors of Major Series Lacrosse, winning two consecutive Mann Cup championships (2008–2009). Merrill is currently playing for the Kahnawake Mohawks in the Quebec Senior Lacrosse League.

International career

In 2006, he helped the Canadian national lacrosse team to an historic win at the World Lacrosse Championship in London, Ontario. He had an outstanding tournament, being named Best Defender and earning All-World honours.

Personal

Brodie and his brother Patrick were a member of the Toronto Rock. Both Brodie and Patrick are members of the Brampton Excelsiors in the Major Series Lacrosse and both were members the Hamilton Nationals of Major League Lacrosse. Additionally, Patrick currently coaches Brodie with the San Diego Seals. He was named by Inside Lacrosse as "The Best Player in the World."-Inside Lacrosse.[14] He is also the Dean of Students and head men's lacrosse coach at The Hill Academy in Caledon, Ontario. At a very young age, he was best friends with lacrosse player Kyle Miller. Both loved the game and chose to play together at the Salisbury School, a prep school in Connecticut, but went on to different colleges. Kyle and Brodie were reunited as teammates on the Canadian roster for the 2006 World Lacrosse Championships. Kyle was diagnosed in 2011 as having Osteosarcoma. He died on June 8, 2013. Brodie is the main editor for the online lacrosse magazine, Brodie Merrill Lacrosse.[15]

Merrill is a fan of the Montreal Canadiens.[16]

Legacy

Merrill is regarded as one of the best players in the history of lacrosse. He is the NLL's all-time leader in loose balls with 2,778, and is tied with Greg Gurenlian for the most ground balls in the history of professional outdoor lacrosse with 1,120. His 200 games between MLL and PLL are also a record for a field lacrosse player. Additionally, Merrill is the highest scoring long stick in professional field lacrosse history, tallying 146 career points in MLL and PLL. He won the NLL Transition Player of the Year Award a record setting 3 times, and the MLL Defensive Player of the Year a record setting 6 times, all consecutive. Merrill revolutionized the LSM position with his offensive abilities, with the Premier Lacrosse League naming their award for the top LSM in the league after him.[17]

Statistics

NLL

Reference:[18]

Brodie Merrill Regular Season Playoffs
Season Team GP G A Pts LB PIM Pts/GP LB/GP PIM/GP GP G A Pts LB PIM Pts/GP LB/GP PIM/GP

2006 Portland LumberJax 16 17 32 49 214 33 3.06 13.38 2.06 1 0 4 4 15 0 4.00 15.00 0.00
2007 Portland LumberJax 15 4 19 23 196 49 1.53 13.07 3.27
2008 Portland LumberJax 16 17 21 38 211 53 2.38 13.19 3.31 3 4 5 9 43 0 3.00 14.33 0.00
2009 Portland LumberJax 16 14 33 47 216 38 2.94 13.50 2.38 1 2 5 7 14 2 7.00 14.00 2.00
2010 Edmonton Rush 16 17 36 53 190 31 3.31 11.88 1.94 2 1 1 2 24 2 1.00 12.00 1.00
2011 Edmonton Rush 16 9 38 47 187 34 2.94 11.69 2.13
2012 Philadelphia Wings 16 17 15 32 157 29 2.00 9.81 1.81 1 3 0 3 7 2 3.00 7.00 2.00
2013 Philadelphia Wings 14 10 16 26 123 16 1.86 8.79 1.14 1 0 2 2 4 0 2.00 4.00 0.00
2014 Philadelphia Wings 18 8 26 34 189 29 1.89 10.50 1.61
2015 Toronto Rock 18 8 24 32 151 21 1.78 8.39 1.17 4 0 3 3 31 2 0.75 7.75 0.50
2016 Toronto Rock 18 4 12 16 180 54 0.89 10.00 3.00
2017 Toronto Rock 18 7 12 19 171 41 1.06 9.50 2.28 3 3 3 6 36 2 2.00 12.00 0.67
2018 Toronto Rock 17 6 16 22 127 33 1.29 7.47 1.94
2019 San Diego Seals 16 3 11 14 123 24 0.88 7.69 1.50 1 0 0 0 7 0 0.00 7.00 0.00
2020 San Diego Seals 12 2 10 12 95 19 1.00 7.92 1.58
2022 San Diego Seals 17 3 7 10 134 23 0.59 7.88 1.35 4 0 1 1 24 2 0.25 6.00 0.50
2023 San Diego Seals 17 2 12 14 116 56 0.82 6.82 3.29 1 0 0 0 9 0 0.00 9.00 0.00
276 148 340 488 2,780 583 1.77 10.07 2.11 22 13 24 37 214 12 1.68 9.73 0.55
Career Total: 298 161 364 525 2,994 595 1.76 10.05 2.00

GP–Games played; G–Goals; A–Assists; Pts–Points; LB–Loose balls; PIM–Penalty minutes; Pts/GP–Points per games played; LB/GP–Loose balls per games played; PIM/GP–Penalty minutes per games played.

Premier Lacrosse League

Brodie Merrill Regular Season Playoffs
Season Team GP G 2PG A Pts Sh GB Pen PIM FOW FOA GP G 2PG A Pts Sh GB Pen PIM FOW FOA
2019 Chaos 10 0 0 0 0 1 36 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0
2020 Waterdogs 5 0 0 0 0 0 10 2 1 0 0
2021 Cannons 9 0 0 0 0 0 40 2 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
2022 Cannons 6 0 0 1 1 0 15 2 1.5 0 0
30 0 0 1 1 1 101 6 4.5 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0
Career Total: 33 0 0 1 1 1 107 6 4.5 0 0

GP–Games played; G–Goals; 2PG–2-point goals; A–Assists; Pts–Points; Sh–Shots; GB–Ground balls; Pen–Penalties; PIM–Penalty minutes; FOW–Faceoffs won; FOA–Faceoffs attempted

Major League Lacrosse

Brodie Merrill[19] Regular Season Playoffs
Season Team GP G 2PG A Pts Sh GB Pen PIM FOW FOA GP G 2PG A Pts Sh GB Pen PIM FOW FOA
2005 Baltimore Bayhawks 11 3 0 1 4 8 52 0 2 0 0 2 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0
2006 Rochester Rattlers 11 6 1 5 12 17 95 0 9 0 1
2007 Rochester Rattlers 12 5 0 9 14 14 101 0 5 0 0
2008 Rochester Rattlers 10 6 0 12 18 10 75 0 4.5 0 0
2009 Toronto Nationals 12 8 0 12 20 20 69 0 5.5 3 11 2 1 0 1 2 2 14 0 0.5 0 0
2010 Toronto Nationals 10 3 0 9 12 13 55 0 2.5 1 3
2011 Hamilton Nationals 12 4 1 12 17 14 77 0 7.5 0 1 2 1 0 0 1 1 13 0 0.5 0 0
2012 Hamilton Nationals 13 4 1 6 11 21 96 0 5.5 0 0
2013 Hamilton Nationals 13 2 0 9 11 16 91 0 4.5 0 3 1 1 0 0 1 1 11 0 3 0 0
2014 Boston Cannons 13 4 0 1 5 7 62 0 3.5 0 0
2015 Boston Cannons 7 0 0 2 2 2 33 0 1.5 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
2016 Boston Cannons 13 3 1 0 4 4 60 0 1 0 0
2017 Boston Cannons 9 1 0 4 5 3 39 0 1.5 0 2
2018 Boston Cannons 11 1 0 0 1 6 49 0 2 0 0
157 50 4 82 136 155 954 0 55.5 4 21 8 4 0 1 5 6 40 0 4 0 0
Career Total: 165 54 4 83 141 161 994 0 59.5 4 21

GP–Games played; G–Goals; 2PG–2-point goals; A–Assists; Pts–Points; Sh–Shots; GB–Ground balls; Pen–Penalties; PIM–Penalty minutes; FOW–Faceoffs won; FOA–Faceoffs attempted

Canadian Lacrosse Association

    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1997 Orangeville Northmen OLA Jr.A 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1998 Orangeville Northmen OLA Jr.A 20 8 9 17 44 9 1 2 3 8
1999 Orangeville Northmen OLA Jr.A 15 13 20 33 20 10 6 25 31 10
2000 Orangeville Northmen OLA Jr.A 14 21 24 45 32 14 13 30 43 19
Minto Cup Orangeville Northmen CLA -- -- -- -- -- 6 3 11 14 4
2001 Orangeville Northmen OLA Jr.A 14 20 33 53 49 5 7 7 14 15
2002 Orangeville Northmen OLA Jr.A 14 16 15 31 30 11 8 14 22 31
2003 Coquitlam Adanacs WLA 14 6 12 18 41 10 5 7 12 25
2004 Brampton Excelsiors MSL 6 2 7 9 21 14 8 9 17 56
2006 Brampton Excelsiors MSL 7 7 12 19 6 11 7 14 21 27
2007 Brampton Excelsiors MSL 4 4 1 5 4 9 12 17 29 12
2008 Brampton Excelsiors MSL 4 0 9 9 10 9 4 10 14 21
Mann Cup Brampton Excelsiors CLA -- -- -- -- -- 4 2 3 5 13
2009 Brampton Excelsiors MSL 7 7 6 13 12 9 3 5 8 31
Mann Cup Brampton Excelsiors CLA -- -- -- -- -- 7 2 2 4 14
Junior A Totals 78 78 86 164 175 49 35 78 113 83
Minto Cup Totals -- -- -- -- -- 6 3 11 14 4
Senior A Totals 42 26 47 73 94 62 39 62 101 172
Mann Cup Totals -- -- -- -- -- 11 4 5 9 27

Awards

Preceded by MLL Rookie of the Year
2005
Succeeded by
Preceded by NLL Rookie of the Year
2006
Succeeded by
Preceded by NLL Defensive Player of the Year
2006
Succeeded by
Preceded by MLL Defensive Player of the Year
2006-2011
Succeeded by
Lee Zink
Preceded by NLL Transition Player of the Year
2009, 2010
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Brad Self
NLL Transition Player of the Year
2017
Succeeded by
Preceded by Toronto Rock captain
2017-2018
Succeeded by
Challen Rogers

References

  1. ^ "Brodie Merrill LSM of the Year Award". Twitter. Retrieved 2021-08-23.
  2. ^ Rice, Nelson (2019-06-13). "Fooling Father Time: Brodie Merrill". Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2023-06-17.
  3. ^ Leonard, Tod (2019-01-12). "Merrill brothers bring experience, drive to Seals' inaugural lacrosse season". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2023-06-17.
  4. ^ "Brodie Merrill to Embark on 16th Pro Lacrosse Season". Georgetown University Athletics. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
  5. ^ "All-Star reserves announced". NLL.com. February 19, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-05.
  6. ^ "Wings Acquire Brodie Merrill in Six-Player Deal". Laxpower.com. August 9, 2011. Archived from the original on December 6, 2017. Retrieved 2011-08-08.
  7. ^ "Brodie Merrill". NLL. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
  8. ^ "Brodie Merrill Retires from Lacrosse". www.usalaxmagazine.com. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
  9. ^ "Brodie Merrill earns fourth straight Warrior Defensive Player of the Year award". www.insidelacrosse.com. August 18, 2009. Archived from the original on August 30, 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
  10. ^ "Brodie Merrill | Hamilton Nationals Lacrosse". Archived from the original on 2012-06-24. Retrieved 2012-07-20.
  11. ^ "2021 Expansion Draft Results". Premier Lacrosse League. 2021-03-12. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  12. ^ @warriorlax (August 20, 2022). "Game #200 for the legend! Congrats to Brodie Merrill on this huge milestone. Most games played in pro lacrosse history! #warriorlax" (Tweet). Retrieved 18 July 2023 – via Twitter.
  13. ^ "O.L.A. Junior A Trophy Winners". wampsbibleoflacrosse.com.
  14. ^ "Interview with Brodie Merrill: Hill Lacrosse Director named "Best Player in the World"". www.thehillacademy.com. Archived from the original on 2007-06-16.
  15. ^ "Brodie Merrill LacrosseBrodie-Merrill-Lacrosse". Archived from the original on 2014-02-01. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
  16. ^ Merrill, Brodie. "Brodie Merrill: Sport the magnet that draws my family together". www.inquirer.com. Retrieved 2023-06-17.
  17. ^ "Legend Brodie Merrill Announces Retirement From Playing Professional Lacrosse". Inside Lacrosse. 2023 [September 13, 2023].
  18. ^ "Player National Lacrosse League". NLL.com. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  19. ^ "Brodie Merrill - Major League Lacrosse - player page | Pointstreak Sports Technologies". pointstreak.com. Retrieved 2022-03-07.