Rochester Knighthawks General Manager and Vice President of Lacrosse Operations Dan Carey announced today that the team has agreed to terms with defenseman Brad Gillies on a three-year contract, pending league approval.
Gillies, 31, completed his sixth pro season in 2021-22 with the Halifax Thunderbirds, scoring four goals and adding five assists for nine points in 17 games. He also notched one goal in one playoff contest for the Thunderbirds, who finished third in the NLL’s East Division.
We love us a good short handed goal 👀
Next season is going to be fun! Welcome to the squad, Brad Gillies! pic.twitter.com/NDJevmSbHK
— Rochester Knighthawks (@RocKnighthawks) August 18, 2022
A native of Oakville, Ontario, the 6-foot-1, 200-pound defenseman has totaled 64 points (28+36) and 350 loose ball recoveries in 87 career NLL games.
Gillies is no stranger to Rochester having spent the first four years of his pro career with the previous Knighthawks organization after being selected ninth overall in the 2015 NLL Entry Draft. In 59 games with Knighthawks, Gillies recorded 50 points (22+28) and was a three-time winner of the team’s community service award.
Prior to turning pro, Gillies was a four-year starter at Rochester Institute of Technology (R.I.T.) from 2012-2015. A mainstay on the Tigers midfield, he tallied 97 career points on 27 goals and 70 assists in 83 career games, helping the Tigers to four Liberty League titles and four trips to the NCAA Division III Tournament, including a championship game appearance in 2013.
A 2015 USILA Honorable Mention Division III All-American selection and a second team All-Liberty League pick, Gillies is tied for 28th all-time with 219 career ground balls. A co-captain in 2015, Gillies played in all 22 games, tallying career highs in points with 53, goals with 11 and led the team with 42 assists, the eighth-best total in school history. He left the program as a three-time Liberty League All-Academic selection and a USILA Academic All-America selection in 2015.
Hey there, @bradgillies6 👋 pic.twitter.com/0gyEB7zo0Q
— Rochester Knighthawks (@RocKnighthawks) August 18, 2022
Gillies is also a two-time Minto Cup winner at the junior level, winning championships in 2009 and 2012 with Orangeville, and played one game with the former Rochester Rattlers of Major League Lacrosse.
He currently serves as the program director of Sweetlax Lacrosse, upstate New York’s elite lacrosse club organization, and is the founder of the Roots Youth Box Lacrosse League, powered by the Rochester Knighthawks.