The Buffalo Sabres have signed defenseman Oskari Laaksonen to a three-year, entry-level contract, the team announced this morning.
Laaksonen, 20, spent the last three seasons with Ilves in Liiga in his native Finland, compiling five goals and 40 points in 113 games.
“The work Oskari has put in to improve his game has paid off during his last two seasons,” Sabres general manager Jason Botterill said in a statement. “His success on the international stage and what he’s done as a 19- and 20-year-old playing in a professional league is impressive.”
The Sabres drafted the 6-foot-1, 181-pound Laaksonen in the third round in 2017, 89th overall.
Laaksonen won a gold medal with Team Finland at the 2019 World Junior Championship.
I hope Botterill comes through with this signing. I hope this kid has grit and won’t be afraid to hit somebody. Hope he is strong with the puck.
Botterill is a good, smart GM.
Remember the success he had in Pittsburgh with the Penguins.
I really hated to see him leave Pittsburgh….
Don