Brodie Merrill
Brodie Merrill (born November 5, 1981 in Orangeville, Ontario) is a Canadian professional lacrosse player. He currently plays in the National Lacrosse League for the San Diego Seals and Premier Lacrosse League for the Waterdogs.
| Born | November 5, 1981 Orangeville, Ontario, Canada |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Canada |
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Weight | 205 pounds (93 kg) |
| Shoots | Left |
| Position | Defense |
| NCAA team | Georgetown (2005) |
| NLL draft | 1st overall, 2005 Portland LumberJax |
| NLL team Former teams | San Diego Seals Toronto Rock Philadelphia Wings Edmonton Rush Portland LumberJax |
| MLL teams | Hamilton Nationals Rochester Rattlers Baltimore Bayhawks [ [Boston Cannons] ] |
| PLL team Former teams | Waterdogs Chaos |
| MSL team | Brampton Excelsiors |
| Pro career | 2006– |
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.
Professional Career
NLL career
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.[1]
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.[2]
On November 29th, 2018, Brodie was signed by the San Diego Seals where he was named captain.
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.[3] 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.[4]
PLL Career
In 2019, Merrill joined Paul Rabil’s new Premier Lacrosse League as a member of the Chaos Lacrosse Club.
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.[5]
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. He was named by Inside Lacrosse as "The Best Player in the World."-Inside Lacrosse.[6] He is also the Dean of Students and head men's lacrosse coach at The Hill Academy in Vaughan, 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.[7]
Statistics
NLL
Reference:[8]
| 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 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 242 | 143 | 321 | 464 | 2,530 | 504 | 1.92 | 10.45 | 2.08 | 17 | 13 | 23 | 36 | 181 | 10 | 2.12 | 10.65 | 0.59 | ||
| Career Total: | 259 | 156 | 344 | 500 | 2,711 | 514 | 1.93 | 10.47 | 1.98 | ||||||||||
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.
Major League Lacrosse
| Regular Season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GP | G | 2ptG | A | Pts | LB | PIM | GP | G | 2ptG | A | Pts | LB | PIM | ||
| 2005 | Baltimore | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 52 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2006 | Rochester | 11 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 12 | 95 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2007 | Rochester | 12 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 14 | 101 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 0 | ||
| 2008 | Rochester | 10 | 6 | 0 | 12 | 18 | 75 | 4.5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 0 | ||
| 2009 | Toronto | 12 | 8 | 0 | 12 | 20 | 69 | 5.5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 0.5 | ||
| MLL Totals | 56 | 28 | 1 | 39 | 68 | 392 | 24 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 33 | 0.5 | |||
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 Ryan Boyle |
MLL Rookie of the Year 2005 |
Succeeded by Matt Ward |
| Preceded by Ryan Boyle |
NLL Rookie of the Year 2006 |
Succeeded by Ryan Benesch |
| Preceded by Andrew Turner |
NLL Defensive Player of the Year 2006 |
Succeeded by Ryan Cousins |
| Preceded by Nicky Polanco |
MLL Defensive Player of the Year 2006-2011 |
Succeeded by Lee Zink |
| Preceded by Mark Steenhuis |
NLL Transition Player of the Year 2009, 2010 |
Succeeded by Jeff Shattler |
| Preceded by Brad Self |
NLL Transition Player of the Year 2017 |
Succeeded by Joey Cupido |
| Preceded by Colin Doyle |
Toronto Rock captain 2017-2018 |
Succeeded by Challen Rogers |
References
- "All-Star reserves announced". NLL.com. February 19, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-05.
- "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.
- "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.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-06-24. Retrieved 2012-07-20.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "O.L.A. Junior A Trophy Winners". wampsbibleoflacrosse.com.
- "Interview with Brodie Merrill: Hill Lacrosse Director named "Best Player in the World"". www.thehillacademy.com. Archived from the original on 2007-06-16.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-02-01. Retrieved 2014-01-19.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Player National Lacrosse League". NLL.com. Retrieved March 9, 2020.