Wings Bolster Roster With Four Additions - Philadelphia Wings Lacrosse
Powered By
MGM Logo
Scores / Schedule
MediaPress Releases

Wings Bolster Roster With Four Additions

The Philadelphia Wings have signed four players to contracts for the 2019-20 season – defenseman Ian Llord, transition player Daryl Waud, forward Cory Vitarelli and goaltender Brandon Miller, according to head coach and general manager Paul Day.

“This off-season we wanted to add some veteran leadership in goal and defense, and wanted to focus on adding a physical presence defensively,” Day said. “Ian Llord is a very physical player with a championship pedigree, and Daryl Waud has a bright future in the National Lacrosse League after a successful Junior A career in Peterborough and a five-year stint playing professional football. Cory Vitarelli is another proven winner and a very physical offensive player, and Brandon Miller is a veteran proven winner that can mentor the newly acquired Zach Higgins and be a leader for our entire team. These roster additions are positive steps towards building a winning team in Philadelphia.”

 

Ian Llord – Defense

Llord comes to the Wings from the Colorado Mammoth, who acquired him in March of last season in a trade with Rochester.  Over the course of 15 games in the 2019 season between the two teams, Llord posted an assist while gathering 45 loose balls. He was also credited with 11 forced turnovers.

During his time in Rochester, Llord was part of two NLL championships, in 2013 and 2014. During the 2017 campaign, he was fourth on the Knighthawks in loose balls with 78 and in forced turnovers with 12.

Llord was selected by the original Wings with the fifth overall pick in the 2006 NLL Entry Draft. He played his first NLL season with the Wings in 2006-07 and then was traded to Buffalo at the 2007 draft. Llord played the next five seasons with Buffalo before moving to Rochester, where he played 6 ½ seasons before last year’s trade to Colorado.

Over a 13-year NLL career, Llord has registered 670 loose balls and has 91 caused turnovers since the stat started being kept in 2012.

Before beginning his NLL career, Llord played for the St. Catharine’s Athletics in the Ontario Junior A Lacrosse League, helping the team win the Junior “A” Minto Cup, in 2003. Llord has also won five Mann Cups in Major Series Lacrosse – one with the Brampton Excelsiors (2007), two, back-to-back, with the Six Nations Chiefs (2013-14), and two, back-to-back, with the Peterborough Lakers (2017-18).

In 2014, Llord accomplished the rare feat of clinching three championship cups in one season, winning the NLL Champion’s Cup with the Knighthawks, the Mann Cup with Six Nations and the Senior “B” President’s Cup with St. Catharine’s.

 

Daryl Waud – Transition

 Waud will make his first appearance in the NLL after several years playing for Peterborough of the Ontario Junior A Lacrosse League, where his teammates included Wings forward Josh Currier and defenseman Eric Shewell.  Waud appeared in 67 games for the Lakers from 2009 to 2013, posting 24 goals and 51 assists for 75 points, along with 56 loose balls.

“I’m extremely excited to join the Wings organization and get the opportunity to play in a great city like Philadelphia,” Waud said.  I visited Philly a couple of years ago with my brother and “absolutely loved it. I’m looking forward to starting this new chapter of my life. Lacrosse has always been a passion of mine and I can’t wait to get back playing. I’m grateful that the Wings are providing me with this opportunity.”

A 6-5, 250-lb native of Hamilton, Ontario, Waud has spent the past four years playing professional football in the Canadian Football League. A defensive lineman, Waud was drafted by the Toronto Argonauts in 2015 and appeared in 19 games for the team from 2015-17, and then went on to play in six games for the Ottawa Redblacks in 2018. Waud played a four-year collegiate career at Western University in London, Ontario prior to joining the CFL, during which time he played lacrosse for Peterborough in the summer.

 

Cory Vitarelli – Forward

Vitarelli comes to the Wings from the Colorado Mammoth, who acquired him in March of last season in a trade with Rochester.  Over the course of 15 games in the 2019 season between the two teams, Vitarelli recorded 23 goals and 15 assists for 40 points, along with 51 loose balls and an even 100 shots on goal.

The trade in March ended Vitarelli’s 8 ½ year run with the Knighthawks. He made his debut with the club in 2011 and helped the Knighthawks to three NLL championships (2012-14) and an appearance in the finals in 2018. He ranked ninth in scoring in franchise history at the time of his departure. In his 116 regular-season appearances with Rochester, Vitarelli recorded 184 goals, 129 assists, 521 loose balls and 222 turnovers.

Vitarelli has scored 20 or more goals in seven of his eight full NLL seasons since 2012, and ranked third on the team with 93 loose balls in 2018. Vitarelli has played nine summer seasons for the Peterborough Lakers in the Major Series Lacrosse league, winning four Mann Cups with the team (2007, 2010, 2012, 2018).

 

Brandon Miller – Goaltender

A veteran of 18 NLL seasons, Miller makes a return as a player to both the NLL and to Philadelphia.  The 40-year-old began his career in Albany in 2001, and continued with stops in San Jose, Chicago, Philadelphia and Toronto, where he briefly retired from the NLL after the 2018 season and joined the Rock as a goaltending coach. Miller has continued to play senior lacrosse in Canada during the summer.

Miller played for the original Wings from 2008 to 2014 before being traded to the Rock at the 2014 trade deadline. He appeared in 87 games for the Wings during that time, going 32-45 with a 12.11 GAA and a .763 save percentage.  Over the course of his career, Miller has a 56-81 record with a 12.11 GAA and .762 save percentage. His best season came in 2015, when he went 8-2 with Toronto with a 10.36 GAA and .792 save percentage and helped the Rock reach the NLL Final.  In six games after joining the Rock the year before, Miller was 3-1 with an 8.95 GAA and .830 save percentage.

 

Comcast Spectacor is part of Comcast Corporation, a global media and technology company that operates Comcast Cable, NBCUniversal and Sky. Headquartered in Philadelphia, Comcast Spectacor owns and operates the Wells Fargo Center arena and complex, as well as a portfolio of professional sports teams that includes the National Hockey League’s Philadelphia Flyers, the Overwatch League’s Philadelphia Fusion, the National Lacrosse League’s Philadelphia Wings and the Maine Mariners of the ECHL. Visit us at ComcastSpectacor.com for more information.

Philadelphia Wings Lacrosse
"
"