Georgia Swarm
NLL professional box lacrosse team
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The Georgia Swarm are an American professional box lacrosse team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area that competes in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). They have been playing at the 13,000-seat Gas South Arena since their 2016 season.[1]
| |
| Sport | Box lacrosse |
|---|---|
| First season | 2016 |
| League | National Lacrosse League |
| Team history | Montreal Express (2002) Minnesota Swarm (2004–2015) |
| Location | Duluth, Georgia |
| Arena | Gas South Arena |
| Colors | Gold, Navy, White |
| Owner | John and Andy Arlotta |
| Head coach | Ed Comeau |
| General manager | John Arlotta |
| Championships | 1 (2017) |
| Division titles | 2 (2017, 2018) |
| Playoff berths | 6 (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2024, 2025) |
| Website | georgiaswarm.com |
Team history
Originally formed as the 2002 expansion Montreal Express, the owners of the Minnesota Swarm purchased the inactive Express franchise from the NLL to create the Swarm in 2004. They played at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota from 2004 until 2015.[2] On May 22, 2015, team owner John Arlotta announced that the Xcel Energy Center did not renew the contract for the team.[3] Instead of negotiating for a new lease, the Swarm began looking for potential relocation sites and eventually chose the Atlanta metro area.[1]
In 2017 the Swarm won the NLL championship title against the defending Saskatchewan Rush 2–0 in a best of three series.[4][5]
Current roster
2024 Georgia Swarm season
Head coaching history
Awards and honors
Note: This list does not include awards from the Minnesota Swarm Note: Mike Poulin's 2020 Teammate of the year award was a tie with Dan Dawson of the Toronto Rock.
| Year | Player | Award |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Randy Staats | Rookie of the Year |
| 2017 | Lyle Thompson | Most Valuable Player |
| Lyle Thompson | Championship Game MVP | |
| Jason Noble | Defensive Player of the Year | |
| Jordan Hall | Sportsmanship Award | |
| John Arlotta | GM of the Year | |
| Ed Comeau | Les Bartley Award | |
| Mike Poulin | Teammate of the Year | |
| 2018 | Lyle Thompson | Sportsmanship Award |
| 2019 | Lyle Thompson | Sportsmanship Award |
| John Ranagan | Teammate of the Year | |
| 2020 | Shayne Jackson | Most Valuable Player |
| Lyle Thompson | Sportsmanship Award | |
| Mike Poulin | Teammate of the Year | |
| 2022 | Lyle Thompson | Sportsmanship Award |
| 2023 | Lyle Thompson | Sportsmanship Award |
| 2024 | Lyle Thompson | Sportsmanship Award |
All-time record
| Season | Division/Conference[a] | W–L | Finish | Home | Road | GF | GA | Coach | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Eastern | 8–10 | 3rd | 4–5 | 4–5 | 238 | 240 | Ed Comeau | Lost division semi-final |
| 2017 | Eastern | 13–5 | 1st | 7–2 | 6–3 | 266 | 213 | Ed Comeau | Won Championship |
| 2018 | Eastern | 11–7 | 1st | 6–3 | 5–4 | 226 | 215 | Ed Comeau | Lost division final |
| 2019 | Eastern | 12–6 | 2nd | 7–2 | 5–4 | 230 | 210 | Ed Comeau | Lost Eastern Division semi-final |
| 2020 | Eastern | 7–5 | 2nd | 2–4 | 5–1 | 149 | 126 | Ed Comeau | No playoffs held |
| 2021 | Eastern | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | |||||||
| 2022 | Eastern | 9–9 | 6th | 4–5 | 5–4 | 205 | 212 | Ed Comeau | Did not qualify |
| 2023 | Eastern | 8–10 | 6th | 3–6 | 5–4 | 219 | 207 | Ed Comeau | Did not qualify |
| 2024 | Unified | 10–8 | 5th | 6–3 | 4–5 | 198 | 197 | Ed Comeau | Lost Quarterfinals |
| 2025 | Unified | 9–9 | 7th | 4–5 | 5–4 | 214 | 217 | Ed Comeau | Lost Quarterfinals |
| Total | 9 seasons | 87–69 | 43–35 | 44–34 | 1,945 | 1,837 | |||
| Playoff totals | 6 Appearances | 4–5 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 110 | 107 | 1 Championship | ||
Playoff results
| Season | Game | Visiting | Home |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | East Division semi-final | Georgia 13 | New England 14 OT |
| 2017 | East Division Finals Game 1 | Georgia 11 | Toronto 8 |
| East Division Finals Game 2 | Toronto 9 | Georgia 13 | |
| NLL Finals Game 1 | Saskatchewan 14 | Georgia 18 | |
| NLL Finals Game 2 | Georgia 15 OT | Saskatchewan 14 | |
| 2018 | East Division Finals | Rochester 9 | Georgia 8 |
| 2019 | East Division semi-final | Toronto 16 | Georgia 14 |
| 2024 | Quarterfinals | Georgia 9 | Buffalo 10 OT |
| 2025 | Quarterfinals | Georgia 9 | Saskatchewan 13 |
Draft history
NLL entry draft
First-round selections
- 2015: Lyle Thompson (1st overall), Chad Tutton (5th overall), Randy Staats (6th overall)
- 2016: Bryan Cole (4th overall), Connor Sellars (10th overall)
- 2017: Zed Williams (4th overall)
- 2018: Brendan Bomberry (7th overall), Adam Wiedemann (8th overall)
- 2019: Kason Tarbell (11th overall), Ryan MacSpadyen (13th overall)
- 2020: Robert Hudson (6th overall), Jeff Henrick (8th overall), Ethan Walker (10th overall), Laine Hruska (13th overall)
- 2021: Ryan Lanchbury (2nd overall)
- 2022: Brett Dobson (11th overall), Brady Kearnan (20th overall)
- 2023: Toron Eccleston (6th overall), Jacob Hickey (8th overall), Kaleb Benedict (19th overall)
- 2024: Michael Grace (3rd overall), Alex Bean (11th overall)
Notes
- Conference play began in the 2022 season