Since the end of last season, Buffalo has added a trio of players who will turn pro this fall. The Sabres signed forward Andrew Oglevie as an undrafted free agent out of Notre Dame and defenseman Lawrence Pilut as a free agent out of Sweden, then acquired defenseman Brandon Hickey in a trade with Arizona.
Oglevie, 23, scored 39 points last season as a junior at Notre Dame. Hickey, 22, also took the college route, having scored 14 points from the backend last season as a senior at Boston University, where he served as captain and was once teammates with Jack Eichel, Danny O'Regan and Evan Rodrigues.
Pilut, 22, comes with pro experience already under his belt. He scored 38 points (8+32) in 52 games last season for HV71 of the SHL, winning Defenseman of the Year honors in Sweden's top pro league. Sexton said he expects Pilut to start off in Rochester but can see his transition to North America being a quick one.
"Lawrence Pilut fits the mold that we have," Sexton said. "He's a mobile, puck-moving defenseman. He's not necessarily the biggest guy, but you don't need to be big to play anymore, particularly on the backend.
"You need to be smart, you need to have vision and read the play well and you need to be able to identify your options quickly and execute with precision. And that's what he does."