ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Lawrence Pilut’s return to the ice on Friday came early in the Rochester Americans’ season, but the layoff has felt like forever for the 23-year-old defenseman.

In a first North American season that started by lighting up the American Hockey League and saw him play 33 games in Buffalo, Pilut ended the 2018-19 campaign back in Rochester, where he sustained a shoulder injury in a season-ending Game 3 Calder Cup semifinals loss against Toronto.

Having a playoff sweep to gnaw on amid a summer of surgery recovery and rehabilitation made the offseason seem endless.

“It’s been a long summer with rehab and I’ve been doing well with my off-ice work and everything, I feel very, very powerful,” Pilut said. “I feel like I’m ready to take it to the next step. I just have to get back into the game play and everything.”

The waiting was the hardest part, especially for someone with a motor like Pilut’s.

“If it were up to Lawrence he would’ve been playing back in training camp. He’s such a motivated individual,” Americans interim coach Gord Dineen said. “With him you almost have to temper it and tell him to pull it back a little where he just wants to bust down the door.”

Part of what’s made Pilut such a fascinating prospect is his motivation. When the Sabres signed him out of HV71 in the Swedish Hockey League, he was coming off a season in which he was the league’s defenseman of the year. His skating, puck handling, and offensive abilities showed on the ice, but it was off the ice that was the biggest adjustment for him. Following last season, he said what he had to learn to get better at was managing his time off the ice and understanding that sometimes taking a day off pays off in the long run. Even now, staying still isn’t really something Pilut is wont to do.

“Even in practice in between sets and drills, he’s working on his hands with the puck and he’s stopping and starting and working on his feet. That’s the coach’s dream as far as having to pull the reins on him,” Dineen said. “I think he probably learned a lot about himself last year coming over from Europe. I kind of laugh because I say these European guys aren’t used to the schedule, but he played a lot of games over there and certainly international competitions too.

“I think it’s a maturity thing with him, not maturity because he’s a very mature individual, but just the learning curve for him. The learning part of it is a huge part of coming over here no matter what – off the ice, the culture – but the way we do things, whether it’s practice or off-ice, everything’s an adjustment so sometimes that takes a mental burden on you too.”

If all those factors have taken a psychological toll on Pilut it doesn’t show in his light and friendly demeanor. If there were moments in Buffalo last season where maybe there was an intimidation factor at being there, it’s gone now. During his season debut, there was a bit of snarl apparent in Pilut’s game.

He’s still aggressive with the puck and willing to go at defenders, but he’s not allowing others to push him around. Pilut’s ever-present smile now shows signs of that added edge after his two front teeth were chipped in Friday’s 4-3 shootout loss against Cleveland. If that’s how it’s going to be then he’s ready for it.

“I just try to play my game and if that means guys get on me, that’s how it is sometimes,” Pilut said. “I don’t think that’s what I’m trying to do all the time… I’m not trying to do anything; I just play my game and help the team out as much as possible.”

The team, be it the Americans or the Sabres, certainly loves having Pilut out there to assist.

“I think I speak for pretty much all the forwards — we don’t want to be skating up and down the ice all the time, so having a guy like that back there to head-man the puck through all the zones makes it easier for us,” forward Scott Wilson said.

Pilut’s return to action against Cleveland saw him thrown immediately into all phases of the game. He was on the top pairing with Will Borgen, he ran the team’s top power play unit, and killed penalties. Rochester isn’t short on defensive talent, so that Pilut was given the keys right off the hop speaks to how much he’s trusted there and what the direction is for him to get back to Buffalo.

“It’s been six months since my last game, of course there’s going to be some rust in there, some timing things and everything, but I think give it a little time and hopefully I get back to being me out there and start playing with that confidence and pace,” Pilut said.

The AHL doesn’t keep public numbers for time on-ice, but Pilut did have three shots on goal. He was on-ice for a goal against, but given the situation and how the goal was scored (a 2-on-1 in which he had to slide over to get in between attackers) it would have been somewhat forgivable even if it hadn’t been his first game since April.

Monsters take the lead again. Kevin Stenlund puts one over the right shoulder of Hammond. pic.twitter.com/KVn1BxotvU — Let’s Go Amerks (@LetsGoAmerks) October 19, 2019

Although it will take some games for him to get up to speed, there’s still the logjam of defensemen in Buffalo to deal with once he does.

“I think my focus right now isn’t on anything like that,” Pilut said. “Right now it’s on me having fun and playing hockey and getting back into games, but of course I think there’s a chance (to get back to the NHL). I’m just going to play as best as I can and then take it from there. If I can raise my level of play and everything, I can just try and do a good job out there.”

Although Pilut didn’t get a chance to practice during training camp with Ralph Krueger and the Sabres staff, the way Rochester is being coached is very similar. Knowing that the NHL club is going to do things the same way as the AHL club makes the prospect of getting back to Buffalo all the more tantalizing.

“I like it a lot — It fits my playing style really well,” Pilut said. “I want to be that puck possession kind of ‘D’ and just make plays in the defensive zone and follow up offensively. I like to have the puck a lot and I like to find lanes and get that puck to the net. I think the style of play we have fits my game a lot.”

(Top photo: Jerome Davis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)