Athan Iannucci (born April 15, 1982) is a professional
lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...
player. He played
collegiate lacrosse at
Hofstra University
Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of Ne ...
. Iannucci played professional
lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...
for the
Colorado Mammoth
The Colorado Mammoth are a box lacrosse team playing in the National Lacrosse League. The Mammoth have played at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, since the 2003 season. They are owned by Stan Kroenke, who is also the owner of the Colorado Avalanch ...
of the
National Lacrosse League
The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a men's professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The NLL currently has fifteen teams: ten in the United Stat ...
. He was a member of the now defunct
St. Regis Indians of the
Ontario Lacrosse Association
The Ontario Lacrosse Association (Ontario Lacrosse) is a not-for-profit sport organization and a member association of the Canadian Lacrosse Association, the national governing body for lacrosse in Canada. The Ontario Lacrosse Association is the ...
's Senior-A
Major Series Lacrosse
Major Series Lacrosse (MSL) is a Senior A box lacrosse league based in Ontario, Canada sanctioned by the Ontario Lacrosse Association. Most of the star players in the league play or have played in the National Lacrosse League. Each year, the play ...
. He plays in the summer months for the
WLA Langley Thunder
The Langley Thunder are a Senior A box lacrosse team, based in Langley, British Columbia, Canada. The team competes in the 7-team Western Lacrosse Association (WLA), playing their home games at the 5,276 capacity Langley Events Centre.
The T ...
.
Professional career
NLL career
Iannucci was a First Round Draft pick (8th Overall) by the
Philadelphia Wings of the
National Lacrosse League
The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a men's professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The NLL currently has fifteen teams: ten in the United Stat ...
in the 2007 NLL Entry Draft. He was awarded
Rookie of the Week Honors in Week 5 and Week 15 of the
2007 season, and was also named to the 2007 All-Rookie team. As a rookie, he led the Wings in goals scored.
Iannucci's second season in the league was record-setting. On April 12, 2008, Iannucci scored three goals and broke
Gary Gait's National Lacrosse League record of 61 goals in a season.
During
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
, Iannucci was awarded Player of the Month honours in both January and February, the first time since
1996
File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...
that a player has been Player of the Month in back-to-back months. He was also named player of the month for April, giving him three of the four player of the month awards in the 2008 season. He led the league in goals, points, and shots on goal, was named Offensive and Overall
Player of the Week in week 16, was named to both the starting All-Star team and the First All-Pro team. His stellar season was capped off when he was named 2008
NLL Most Valuable Player, the first Wings player to do so since
Gary Gait
Gary Charles Gait (born April 5, 1967) is a Canadian retired Hall of Fame professional lacrosse player and currently the head coach of the men’s lacrosse team at Syracuse University, where he played the sport collegiately. On January 24, 2017, ...
in
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
.
In June 2008, Iannucci suffered two
meniscal tears in his knee, and underwent successful knee surgery in July. He did not play again until Philadelphia's third game of the
2009 season, but left that game after only playing a few minutes. Iannucci sat out the 2010 NLL season to undergo further surgery, a right leg ligament reconstruction.
After scoring 100 (71g 29a) points with the Wings in 2011, Philadelphia traded Iannucci to the
Edmonton Rush
The Edmonton Rush were a professional lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) that played from 2006 NLL season to 2015.
The team announced on July 20, 2015, that they would be relocating to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, for the 2016 sea ...
with teammates Alex Turner and Brodie McDonald, along with Philadelphia's first round draft picks in 2012, 2013 and 2014. In exchange, the Wings acquired Edmonton transition player
Brodie Merrill
Brodie Merrill (born November 5, 1981) 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 Cannons. Merrill is recognized by the Premier Lacross ...
, Rush forwards Dean Hill, Mike McLellan, and Edmonton's 41st selection in the 2011 entry draft, and the 4th round selection in 2013.
Iannucci never signed a contract with the Rush, and on February 13, 2012, he was traded to the
Washington Stealth
The Washington Stealth were a member of the National Lacrosse League, the professional box lacrosse league of North America from the 2010 NLL season through the 2013 NLL season. They were based in Everett (part of the Seattle metropolitan are ...
for
Paul Rabil
Paul Rabil (born December 14, 1985), is an American former professional lacrosse player and co-founder of the Premier Lacrosse League. He played for the Cannons Lacrosse Club and Atlas Lacrosse Club of the Premier Lacrosse League, as well as the ...
.
After two seasons in Washington, Iannucci was released by the Stealth prior to the
2014 season but only two weeks into the season, he was signed by the
Colorado Mammoth
The Colorado Mammoth are a box lacrosse team playing in the National Lacrosse League. The Mammoth have played at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, since the 2003 season. They are owned by Stan Kroenke, who is also the owner of the Colorado Avalanch ...
.
MLL
The
Chicago Machine
The Chicago Machine were a Major League Lacrosse franchise from 2006 until 2010. The Machine, a men's professional field lacrosse team, played in Toyota Park from 2007 until 2009. Chicago played all its "home" games at various stadiums across t ...
selected Iannucci first Overall in the 2007
Major League Lacrosse
Major League Lacrosse (MLL) was a men's field lacrosse league in the United States. The league's inaugural season was in 2001. Teams played anywhere from ten to 16 games in a summertime regular season. This was followed by a four-team playoff f ...
Supplemental Draft, though he played sparingly with the team in
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
.
He signed with the
Toronto Nationals expansion team in 2009, but played just two games with the team before being released.
WLA/OLA career
In 2007, Iannucci won the ''Denny Huddleston Memorial Trophy'' in the
Western Lacrosse Association
The Western Lacrosse Association (WLA) is a men's Senior A box lacrosse sanctioned by the Canadian Lacrosse Association. It consists of seven teams, based in cities throughout southwestern British Columbia. Each year, the playoff teams battle for ...
as the league's top scorer with the
New Westminster Salmonbellies
The New Westminster Salmonbellies are a Men's Senior 'A' lacrosse team located in New Westminster, BC. Their home arena is Queen's Park Arena. They compete as part of the Western Lacrosse Association and have won the Mann Cup 24 times, most re ...
. In 1999, he won the
Joe Nieuwendyk Award as the top rookie in the
OLA Junior A Lacrosse League
The Ontario Junior Lacrosse League (OJLL) is considered the most competitive Junior A men's box lacrosse league in the world and the number one source for talent for the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The OJLL is sanctioned by the Ontario Lacrosse ...
. In 2008, he played for
St. Regis Indians of the
Ontario Lacrosse Association
The Ontario Lacrosse Association (Ontario Lacrosse) is a not-for-profit sport organization and a member association of the Canadian Lacrosse Association, the national governing body for lacrosse in Canada. The Ontario Lacrosse Association is the ...
's Senior-A
Major Series Lacrosse
Major Series Lacrosse (MSL) is a Senior A box lacrosse league based in Ontario, Canada sanctioned by the Ontario Lacrosse Association. Most of the star players in the league play or have played in the National Lacrosse League. Each year, the play ...
until he injured his knee. The knee was successfully repaired by surgery and Iannucci is expected to rehabilitate for approximately 6 months, in time for the next NLL season. While playing for the
Langley Thunder
The Langley Thunder are a Senior A box lacrosse team, based in Langley, British Columbia, Canada. The team competes in the 7-team Western Lacrosse Association (WLA), playing their home games at the 5,276 capacity Langley Events Centre.
The T ...
on August 27, 2011, the team won the
Western Lacrosse Association
The Western Lacrosse Association (WLA) is a men's Senior A box lacrosse sanctioned by the Canadian Lacrosse Association. It consists of seven teams, based in cities throughout southwestern British Columbia. Each year, the playoff teams battle for ...
Championship for the first time in franchise history. Iannucci is expected to play in the national
Mann Cup
The Mann Cup is the trophy awarded to the senior men's box lacrosse champions of Canada. The championship is a best-of-seven, East vs West series played between the league champions of Major Series Lacrosse, the East, and Western Lacrosse Associati ...
that will be held in September 2011 at the
Langley Events Centre
The Langley Events Centre is a multipurpose facility in the Township of Langley, British Columbia, Canada. The LEC debuted in April 2009, hosting the 2009 BC Gymnastics Championships. It boasts an arena bowl with a 5,276 capacity for sports, in ...
.
College career
Iannucci attended
Hofstra University
Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of Ne ...
. In 2006, he tied with teammate Chris Unterstein for leading scorer the nation with 80 points (62G, 18A) in 19 games. While at Hofstra, Iannucci had back surgery to repair a disc herniation.
Iannucci played only three years at Hofstra, after his NCAA eligibility waiver for a fourth year was denied due to his prior playing career in the Canadian summer
box lacrosse
Box lacrosse, also known as boxla, box, or indoor lacrosse, is an indoor version of lacrosse played mostly in North America. The game originated in Canada in the 1930s, where it is more popular than field lacrosse. Lacrosse is Canada's official ...
leagues.
Personal life
Iannucci lives in
Langley Langley may refer to:
People
* Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name
* Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer
* Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perfor ...
, British Columbia, with his wife Jamie and four children, Ryker, Nixon, Hawksen, and Presley.
Statistics
NLL
Reference:
MLL
Junior "A"
Senior "A"
Hofstra University
Awards
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iannucci, Athan
1982 births
Canadian lacrosse players
Colorado Mammoth players
Hofstra Pride men's lacrosse players
Living people
Major League Lacrosse players
National Lacrosse League All-Stars
National Lacrosse League major award winners
Philadelphia Wings players
Sportspeople from New Westminster
Hamilton Nationals players
Washington Stealth players