Mark Stehlin
Jun 24, 2025
The Brooklin Merchants are celebrating their 25th anniversary season. The team unveiled a new logo and was thrilled to win the right to host the Presidents Cup from August 23-30, 2025 at Iroquois Park Sports Centre. A great deal of work is taking place behind the scenes as the club strives to make the tournament, emblematic of Canadian Senior B Lacrosse supremacy, successful and memorable for all fans, families, and participants.
Prior to that, of course, the Merchants are in the midst of a regular season that has been showing great signs of success.
As of June 24, 2025, the Brooklin Merchants have a 9-1 record and sit atop the Ontario Series Lacrosse (OSL) standings with the Six Nations Rivermen in second with a record of 7-2, both of their losses coming at the hands of the Merchants at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena. The teams will meet on Saturday June 28 at 4 pm at Iroquois Park Sports Centre in a game that will be pivotal in determining the final league standings.
On the floor, the team has five players in the top ten scoring race. The Pipher brothers are second and fourth overall with Parker at 44 points and Devin at 39 points. Rounding off the list are Eddie Renaud in fifth with 34 points, rookie Will MacLeod in sixth with 32 points, and Zac Carrigan in ninth with thirty points.
In net, the team features the trio of Deacan Knott, Lukas Coote and Ryan Schuetzkowski. Knott, named the OSL Most Valuable Player in 2024, has played in six games and sports a goals against average (G.A.A.) of 7.67, Coote has featured in three games with a GAA of 5.00 and Schuetzkowski has been in one game with a GAA of 10.00.
The team’s sole loss happened at the start of the season. It was a road game for the Merchants on May 4th when the Owen Sound North Stars stole a game by a final score of 10-6. The Merchants were able to shake that off and have had a perfect run since that early season stumble.
“I like the chemistry that we have developed both on and off the floor. A good number of these guys have been together coming out of the Covid season and that has shown with our success,” said Head Coach Ryan Degerdon.
“Mark (Debrone, assistant coach) and I have been preaching all year that we need to play each and every game with effort and to the finish, it doesn’t matter who the opponent is. We want to get the guys to the point that no matter if it is a regular season game or a deciding playoff game, we prepare and play the same way,” added Degerdon.
“Our goal is simple, we expect to finish first in the league, play for and win the Ontario championship and then we will start to prepare for a solid Presidents Cup run. All the work so far this year has that goal in mind, and I feel like the guys are buying in and it’s great to see us all on the same page,” said Degerdon.
“When I took on the role of General Manager, one of the areas that I focused on was to make the Merchants and the Brooklin Lacrosse Club a unified team. I am happy to see the quality of players that are in the Brooklin organization and I know that success is possible for both teams,” said General Manager, Gavin Prout.
“As for the run that the Merchants are on, we want to earn a place at the table when it comes to the Presidents Cup. We have no desire to make it in simply as hosts, we expect to be there as Ontario champs,” added Prout.
After Saturday’s big game against the Rivermen, the team has five games remaining, four at home and one on the road.
The 25th season is something the club is very proud of and were able to share that with fans with the production and sale of an anniversary jersey that will be distributed at Saturday’s game.
The anniversary season will culminate with a very busy last week in August as eight Senior B teams from across Canada descend upon Whitby to battle for the Presidents Cup.