Lawrence Pilut

Lawrence Pilut
Born	(1995-12-30) 30 December 1995 (age 29) Tingsryd, Sweden
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	179 lb (81 kg; 12 st 11 lb)
Position	Defence
Shoots	Left
NL team Former teams	Lausanne HC HV71 Buffalo Sabres Traktor Chelyabinsk
National team	Sweden
NHL draft	Undrafted
Playing career	2013–present

Lawrence Pilut (born 30 December 1995) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman for Lausanne HC of the National League (NL). An undrafted player, Pilut played in Sweden with HV71, with who he won the SHL championship in 2017. The following season Pilut won the SHL Defenseman of the year and the Swedish Defenseman of the Year (Salming Trophy), which earned a move to North America where he played briefly in the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres. He has also played with Traktor Chelyabinsk of the KHL.

Playing career

Pilut began playing hockey as a youth in his hometown of Tingsryd and played at the under-18 level with Tingsryds AIF before transferring to HV71. Pilut made his Swedish Hockey League (SHL) debut playing with HV71 during the 2013–14 season. ^[1]

Pilut continued in the SHL with HV71 and in the 2017–18 season, he elevated his development to have a dominant season in contributing with eight goals and 38 points in 52 games to be selected as the league's Defenceman of the Year.

In gaining NHL interest from his breakout season, Pilut left the SHL and signed as an undrafted free agent to a two-year, entry-level contract with the Buffalo Sabres on 15 May 2018. ^[2] Pilut made his NHL debut on 30 November 2018, in a game against the Florida Panthers. ^[3] On 8 January 2019, Pilut scored his first career NHL goal in a 5–1 win over the New Jersey Devils. ^[4]

Pilut became a restricted free agent following the 2019–20 season. On 9 June 2020, he signed a two-year contract with Traktor Chelyabinsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). ^[5]

After two successful seasons in the KHL with Chelyabinsk, Pilut returned to North America and the Sabres organization in agreeing to a one-year, two-way contract on 15 July 2022. ^[6] On 6 June 2023, he signed a two-year contract with Lausanne HC of the National League (NL). ^[7]

Personal life

Pilut's father, Larry Pilut, is from the United States but spent most of his playing career in Sweden, including 14 seasons with Tingsryds AIF. ^[8]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2010–11	Tingsryds AIF	J18		28	1	6	7	4		3	0	1	1	0
2011–12	HV71	J18		22	3	5	8	8		—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	HV71	J18 Allsv		12	3	4	7	14		3	0	1	1	0
2011–12	HV71	J20		3	0	1	1	0		—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	HV71	J18		8	1	4	5	2		—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	HV71	J18 Allsv		1	0	2	2	0		—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	HV71	J20		42	3	18	21	28		7	1	3	4	4
2013–14	HV71	J20		30	3	15	18	26		4	1	1	2	6
2013–14	HV71	SHL		22	0	4	4	18		6	0	0	0	0
2014–15	HV71	J20		2	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2014–15	HV71	SHL		48	3	8	11	10		4	0	0	0	0
2014–15	Timrå IK	Allsv		4	0	2	2	0		—	—	—	—	—
2015–16	HV71	SHL		21	1	5	6	4		6	1	1	2	0
2016–17	HV71	SHL		48	3	9	12	20		16	2	3	5	8
2017–18	HV71	SHL		52	8	30	38	22		2	0	0	0	0
2018–19	Rochester Americans	AHL		30	4	22	26	14		3	0	0	0	0
2018–19	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		33	1	5	6	20		—	—	—	—	—
2019–20	Rochester Americans	AHL		37	6	17	23	20		—	—	—	—	—
2019–20	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		13	0	0	0	4		—	—	—	—	—
2020–21	Traktor Chelyabinsk	KHL		57	7	21	28	34		5	0	2	2	4
2021–22	Traktor Chelyabinsk	KHL		40	0	11	11	28		15	1	7	8	8
2022–23	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		17	1	2	3	0		—	—	—	—	—
2022–23	Rochester Americans	AHL		47	3	25	28	35		14	3	8	11	14
2023–24	Lausanne HC	NL		52	5	16	21	26		19	4	8	12	14
SHL totals				191	15	56	71	74		34	3	4	7	8
NHL totals				63	2	7	9	24		—	—	—	—	—
KHL totals				97	7	32	39	62		20	1	9	10	12

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2012	Sweden	U17	4th		6	0	1	1	0
2021	Sweden	WC	9th		7	0	2	2	4
Junior totals					6	0	1	1	0
Senior totals					7	0	2	2	4

Awards and honors

Award	Year
SHL
Le Mat Trophy champion	2017	[9]
Salming Trophy (best Swedish defenceman)	2018

References

1. "HV71 2013–14 player statistics". eliteprospects.com. 6 May 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
2. "Sabres, Pilut agree to entry-level deal". Buffalo Sabres. 15 May 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
3. "Lawrence Pilut Stats and News NHL.com". National Hockey League. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
4. Jourdon LaBarber (8 January 2019). "Pilut, Smith help fuel 5-goal 2nd period in win over Devils". NHL.com. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
5. "Traktor sign contract with Lawrence Pilut" (in Russian). Traktor Chelyabinsk. 9 June 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
6. "Pilut returns to Sabres on a one-year contract". Buffalo Sabres. 15 July 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
7. Gauci, Antoine (6 June 2023). "Lawrence Pilut rejoint le Lausanne Hockey Club". lausannehc.ch (in Swiss French). Retrieved 6 June 2023.
8. "Larry Pilut player profile - Elite Prospects". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
9. "HV71 wins championship" (in Swedish). aftonbladet.se. 30 April 2017. Retrieved 30 April 2017.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com , or  Eliteprospects.com , or  Eurohockey.com , or  Hockey-Reference.com , or  The Internet Hockey Database