# Lawrence Pilut

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.
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. Pilut made his NHL debut on 30 November 2018, in a game against the Florida Panthers. On 8 January 2019, Pilut scored his first career NHL goal in a 5–1 win over the New Jersey Devils.
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).
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. On 6 June 2023, he signed a two-year contract with Lausanne HC of the National League (NL).

## 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.

## Career statistics
### Regular season and playoffs

| | | | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | 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 | SHL totals | SHL totals | 191 | 15 | 56 | 71 | 74 | 34 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 8 |
| NHL totals | NHL totals | NHL totals | 63 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — |
| KHL totals | KHL totals | 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 | Junior totals | Junior totals | Junior totals | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Senior totals | Senior totals | Senior totals | Senior totals | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |

## Awards and honors

| Award | Year |
| SHL |||
| Le Mat Trophy champion | 2017 |
| Salming Trophy (best Swedish defenceman) | 2018 |