In his first move as GM for the Buffalo Bandits, Steve Dietrich swung a deal with the Minnesota Swarm that added both youth and experience.

Buffalo traded the third overall pick in the upcoming NLL Entry Draft for lefty attacker Shawn Williams, depth defenseman Brendon Doran and the fifth, 14th and 18th picks in this year’s draft. The Bandits now have five selections in the top 18 picks and are the only East Division team with a pick before No. 20.

“Shawn will help add some scoring to our roster,” said Dietrich, who’s carried the nickname “Chugger” from his time as Buffalo Bandit goalie. “He is a great teammate on and off the floor and understands how special it is to be a Buffalo Bandit.”

With the 38-year-old Williams set to become an unrestricted free agent Aug. 1, the former Edmonton Rush forward was dealt briefly to Minnesota before being traded to Buffalo, a team he played with for two seasons (‘00, ‘01). Williams then played with the Rochester Knighthawks for a decade, peaking at 91 points in ‘09 and 93 in ‘07. Williams joins John Tavares, assuming he commits to another season, and Chad Culp on the left side of the attacking unit.

Dietrich missed out on field lacrosse star Paul Rabil, one of the NLL’s more marketable players who sat out last season in a contract dispute with Edmonton. Rabil demanded to be traded to the league’s East Division—he lives in Baltimore—and while the Bandits were rumored to have trade interest mid-last season, no deal was ever struck.

Friday, the Rochester Knighthawks announced that they’d traded Jarrett Davis for Rabil, who won an NLL Championship with Washington in 2010 and set the season-record for loose balls gathered. LacrosseMagazine.com expands on Rabil’s career exploits in this article. With transition players like Mark Steenhuis, Tommy Montour and Jeremy Thompson, it wasn’t imperative for the Bandits to over-bid for Rabil, but a high-profile acquisition would be handy in solidifying a fan-base that was weaker in 2012 than recent years.