After not playing at all in the 2024-25 season, Swedish defenseman Lawrence Pilut has been working out all summer and is expected to soon sign with the Rapperswil-Jona Lakers of Switzerland’s National League, Swedish media outlet Expressen reported on Friday.
Pilut, who was under contract with Lausanne HC in Switzerland, tore his Achilles heel while training in Sweden in the summer of 2024. After surgery and a lengthy recovery period, he was reportedly fit to play in the spring but did not return to the Lausanne lineup as the team finished first in the National League regular season and lost in the finals to the ZSC Lions for the second consecutive year.
Pilut was born in Tyngsryds, Sweden, to an American father – pro hockey player Larry Pilut, who still coaches in Sweden – and a Swedish mother. He played junior hockey and turned pro with HV71 in Jönköping. Never drafted by an NHL club, the 5-foot-11, 195-pound rearguard signed as a free agent with the Buffalo Sabres in 2018 at age 22.
Pilut split three seasons between the Sabres and the Rochester Americans of the AHL, playing a total of 63 NHL games, in which he recorded nine points and 24 penalty minutes. His first stint in North America was from 2018 to 2020, after which he spent two seasons in the KHL with Traktor Chelyabinsk before returning the Sabres organization in 2022-23.
Czech Sabres Prospect Signs Multi-Year Contract In Sweden
Czech forward Lukáš
Rousek, 26, has signed a two-year contract
with HV71, the <a href="https://www.hv71.se/article/c1haswx-3iaijd/view">SHL
club announced on Tuesday</a>. Rousek had played the last five
seasons in North America in the <a href="http://thn.com/buffalo">Buffalo
Sabres</a> organization.
In the most recent season he played, Pilut tallied 33 points in 71 regular-season and playoff games for Lausanne.
Pilut trained this summer with HV71 and, according to the Expressen report, the SHL club had hoped Pilut would play for them this season. Instead, his signing with Rapperswil-Jona is expected to be made official in the next few days.
The Lakers, who have finished ninth and 12th in the past two National League seasons, have won three of their first five games so far this season. Their roster includes fellow import ex-NHLers Victor Rask, Jacob Larsson, Julius Honka, Tanner Fritz and Nicklas Jensen.
Another ex-NHLer goes to Switzerland: Swede Jacob Larsson to Rapperswil-Jona Lakers
After seven seasons in North America, Swedish defenseman Jacob Larsson has returned to Europe. Although he was pursued by Swedish clubs, the Rapperswil-Jona Lakers outbid them for his services and signed the 27-year-old to a two-year contract. This continues a trend of top talent signing in Switzerland over other European options.