Brodie Merrill

Brodie Merrill

Merrill with the Portland Lumberjax in 2009
Born	(1981-11-05) November 5, 1981 (age 43) Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight	205 pounds (93 kg)
Shoots	Left
Position	Defense/LSM (Field), Transition (Box)
NCAA team	Georgetown (2005)
NLL draft	1st overall, 2005 Portland LumberJax
NLL teams	Toronto Rock Philadelphia Wings Edmonton Rush Portland LumberJax San Diego Seals
MLL teams	Hamilton Nationals Rochester Rattlers Baltimore Bayhawks Boston Cannons
PLL team Former teams	Cannons Chaos Waterdogs
MSL team	Brampton Excelsiors
Pro career	2005–Present
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 San Diego Seals No. 17 retired 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 2006 London 2014 Denver 2010 Manchester 2018 Netanya 2023 San Diego World Indoor Lacrosse Championship 2007 Halifax 2011 Prague 2015 Onondaga
U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame, 2024

Brodie Merrill (born November 5, 1981) is a Canadian 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. He played under his brother, head coach Patrick Merrill.

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] Merrill's number 17 jersey was retired by the Seals in a halftime ceremony during their opening game of the 2023-24 season. ^[9] However, on March 15, 2024 it was announced that Merrill would be returning to the active roster, and plans to finish the remainder of the 2024 season on the Seals. ^[10]

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. ^[11] 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. ^[12]

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. ^[13]

Merrill played in his 200th professional field lacrosse game on August 21, 2021, the most of any player in history. ^[14]

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. ^[15]

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. ^[16] 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. ^[17]

Merrill is a fan of the Montreal Canadiens. ^[18]

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. ^[19]

Statistics

NLL

Reference: ^[20]

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
2024	San Diego Seals	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
		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.

   |season18_games_played=    |season18_goals=    |season18_assists=    |season18_loose_balls=    |season18_penalty_minutes=    |season18_playoff_games_played=    |season18_playoff_loose_balls=

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 [21]		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 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

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. NLL (December 9, 2023). "Watch as Brodie Merrill becomes the FIRST player in San Diego Seals franchise history to have his number retired". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 2023-12-10.
10. Levi, Adam (Mar 15, 2024). "Brodie Merrill Returns to Seals Active Roster". National Lacrosse League.
11. "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.
12. "Brodie Merrill | Hamilton Nationals Lacrosse". Archived from the original on 2012-06-24. Retrieved 2012-07-20.
13. "2021 Expansion Draft Results". Premier Lacrosse League. 2021-03-12. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
14. @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.
15. "O.L.A. Junior A Trophy Winners". wampsbibleoflacrosse.com.
16. "Interview with Brodie Merrill: Hill Lacrosse Director named "Best Player in the World"". www.thehillacademy.com. Archived from the original on 2007-06-16.
17. "Brodie Merrill LacrosseBrodie-Merrill-Lacrosse". Archived from the original on 2014-02-01. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
18. Merrill, Brodie. "Brodie Merrill: Sport the magnet that draws my family together". www.inquirer.com. Retrieved 2023-06-17.
19. "Legend Brodie Merrill Announces Retirement From Playing Professional Lacrosse". Inside Lacrosse. 2023 [September 13, 2023].
20. "Player National Lacrosse League". NLL.com. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
21. "Brodie Merrill - Major League Lacrosse - player page | Pointstreak Sports Technologies". pointstreak.com. Retrieved 2022-03-07.