Graydon Hogg’s selfless role is fueling the Cannons’ offense
· Yahoo Sports
Last May, the phone call Graydon Hogg had spent a lifetime dreaming about finally came. One month after signing with the Boston Cannons – and more than a year after his final collegiate game – he’d earned a spot on the roster.
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The same day, another call changed everything. His grandfather, Emerson “Bud” Pipher – the man who put his first lacrosse stick in his hands – had passed away.
After graduating from the University at Albany in 2024 without hearing his name called in the PLL Draft, professional lacrosse felt further away than ever.
Yet on the day he finally secured his place with the Cannons, he was forced to say goodbye to the person who started it all.
“It was almost like a sign from him,” Hogg said. “I felt like he gave me this opportunity. He’s the reason I was where I was, and even though he was passing, it felt like he gave me a new family and an opportunity to keep doing what I love.”
Pipher, a Canadian boxer, had been the voice that pushed for Hogg to pick up lacrosse.
“My parents wanted me to play baseball,” Hogg said with a laugh. “They were really good baseball and softball players, and my grandfather was like, ‘I’m not watching him sit out in left field.'”
That decision became the foundation of a career Hogg couldn’t have imagined.
“I never thought I would be doing this,” Hogg said. “So it’s a childhood dream come true, and I just want to keep enjoying it as much as I can.”
A vote of confidence
His start with the Cannons was thanks in part to a familiar face and fellow Canadian who knew exactly what he was capable of.
Former Cannons defenseman and Hall of Famer Brodie Merrill coached Hogg in high school at The Hill Academy, and Hogg returned years later to work under Merrill as an assistant coach.
“I talked to Brodie at the [2025] Champ Series,” Cannons head coach Brian Holman said. “… He was like, ‘He’s your kind of guy.’”
But even after getting an opportunity, Hogg wasn’t convinced he had truly earned it.
“Initially, I was like, ‘OK, maybe it’s Coach Holman doing Brodie a favor,'” Hogg said.
There were no favors in Merrill’s eyes.
“I wouldn’t have recommended him unless I felt like he could play – and not just play, but make an impact at that level,” Merrill said. “Sometimes players just need an opportunity, and I had a feeling he’d take advantage of it.”
As Hogg prepared to make the jump to the professional game, Merrill’s belief became a source of confidence during a time when he was still questioning himself.
“I definitely hang on to every word that he says,” Hogg said. “He just put a lot of confidence in me and said, ‘You deserve to be there,’ and that helped me more than anything.”
Happy to be here
Fast forward a year, and Hogg is carving out a role among the best lacrosse players in the world.
But his personality off the field is what sets him apart.
“The intangible part to me about Graydon is he’s a wonderful teammate, and he’s got a beautiful spirit about him,” Holman said. “Just lights up a room when he comes in and he’s never in a bad mood and makes people around him better.”
For Hogg, this comes from a simple place: gratitude.
“You asked why I’m happy all the time; it’s just because I get to do this, right?” Hogg said. “Whether you play well or you don’t play well, you get to do it. I’m just grateful to be there. Like, in all honesty, coming out of college I would never have thought I would be in this position.”
Every moment wearing a Cannons jersey is something Hogg doesn’t take for granted.
Because to him, this was never promised.
It’s a gift.
Unlocking the offenseHogg won’t lead the Cannons in goals, but his impact is felt throughout Boston’s offense.
As the team’s primary pick-setter, Hogg creates space for teammates, keeps the offense moving and does the work that rarely appears in the box score.
His role extends far beyond making contact with a defender. Through his timing, positioning and understanding of the two-man game, Hogg forces defenders into split-second decisions. By recognizing when a pick needs to be reset and moving through the play at the right moment, he creates favorable matchups and extra space Boston’s dodgers need to attack.
After Hogg appeared in just three games as a rookie, Holman and offensive coordinator Will Manny entered the offseason with a different plan.
“I said to Coach before the year, he’s got to be in our lineup every week because I think he’s a guy that will figure this out the more he gets to play,” Manny said.
Holman agreed.
“I learned so much from last year,” Holman said. “… It was a mistake not continuing to play him.”
The coaching staff envisioned Hogg as the complementary piece their offense needed.
“You need a guy that is very experienced in picks, very savvy with picks,” Holman said. “A guy that doesn’t want to have the ball on his stick. We knew we needed a guy with Coulter [Mackesy], and Graydon was the guy right from the get-go.”
Graydon Hogg has been unlocking Boston’s offense
— Noel D'Amico (@noeld_sports) July 24, 2026
Boyle & Doc break it down ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/yNqXep5r9Q
Hogg spent the offseason making sure he was ready.
Training alongside Merrill and New York Atlas attackman Jeff Teat while at home in Ontario, Canada, he focused on becoming a stronger, more complete midfielder while sharpening his shooting from range.
That preparation has paid off.
As Mackesy, Boston’s second-year All-Star attackman, has climbed to the top of the PLL scoring race, Hogg has quietly become one of the reasons why.
“He’s helped all of us a ton,” Mackesy said. “He’s such a great pick-setter, and a lot of that goes unnoticed. He works so hard to set good picks and work off picks. It’s just unlocked our offense really well.”
For Hogg, the partnership is built on trust.
“Coulter’s unbelievable,” Hogg said. “He’s one of the best in the league, and I tell him that. He attracts so much attention; being able to play off him is so easy.”
As Mackesy continues to pile up points, Hogg’s fingerprints are all over the offense – even if they don’t always show up on the stat sheet.
Graydon Hogg has helped elevate Coulter Mackesy’s game in a similar way to what Reid Bowering did for Jeff Teat. pic.twitter.com/qaFcMLuDZq
— Joe Keegan (@joekeegs) July 11, 2026
“He doesn’t need the ball to make an impact,” Merrill said. “He’s going to be really selfless and do some of the less glamorous things that not all players are willing to do. That’s always been his identity as a player.”
Making room for others
Hogg’s impact goes beyond picks and assists. His presence is just as evident in the locker room.
Mikey Weisshaar joined the Cannons with the expectations that come with being the No. 2 overall pick. Hogg arrived a year earlier, undrafted, unsure if he truly belonged.
Now, after navigating that same transition himself, Hogg has become someone the next wave of rookies can lean on.
“He’s made just being a rookie so much easier,” Weisshaar said.
As game weekend roommates, they’re always up to something. Hotel rooms turn into “Hawaii Five-O” marathons, forgotten room keys have become part of Hogg’s reputation and an ongoing prank war has ensured neither one sleeps too comfortably.
Despite entering the league under very different circumstances, the two quickly became inseparable, bringing a lighthearted energy to the Cannons locker room.
“Those two guys are just goofing off together, and they have a great relationship now,” Manny said. “As a rookie, it takes a little bit for you to kind of really be yourself, and we see a lot more of that this year with Graydon.”
That ability to make people around him feel comfortable has become one of Hogg’s greatest strengths.
“His spirit, his ‘vibe,’ as you guys would call it, is just unmatched,” Holman said. “He’s always happy. He brings an energy into the room with a smile on his face.”
As the league begins to take notice of Graydon Hogg, little has changed from his perspective.
He’s still the selfless player willing to do the unnoticed work. Still the teammate who makes the people around him better.
The only thing that’s changed is that everyone else now sees what those closest to him always did.
As for Hogg, he’s still just happy to be here.