Pittsburgh Penguins

Learning more about Zach Aston-Reese
March 15, 2017, 10:17 AM ET [125 Comments]
Ryan Wilson
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The Pittsburgh Penguins made a signing yesterday. They were able to acquire the top college free agent on the market in Zach Aston-Reese




This is a great thing for a Stanley Cup contender. It is like acquiring an extra first round pick for nothing. There is no guarantee of success in the NHL, but the probability of success is higher. This is absolutely the kind of thing that will assist the Penguins in managing their salary cap and replenishing their depth.

Bill Guerin and Mark Recchi had been meeting with Aston-Reese after some of his games throughout his college season. Why did Aston-Reese ultimately choose the Penguins?




I'm sure seeing Conor Sheary, an undrafted college free agent, thriving with Sidney Crosby on the top line and winning a Stanley Cup was a nice selling point. It also doesn't hurt to see other recent to semi-recent college players like Jake Guentzel, Scott Wilson, Bryan Rust, Ian Cole and Brian Dumoulin finding success with the team. The Penguins also have one of the more famous college UFA's in Justin Schultz having a great season after his poor initial choice to sign with the Edmonton Oilers. Even Chris Kunitz is a former college UFA. And who could forget about Phil Kessel. The point is that a lot of contributing roster spots on the Penguins have a college background.

So who is Zach Aston-Reese as a player? This isn't a question I could confidently answer because I have not watched a lot of college hockey the past few years. Instead I reached out to somebody who covers college hockey and regularly attends games from the Hockey East Conference.

Ryan Lambert of Yahoo! Sports was gracious enough to answer a few of my questions about Zach Aston-Reese

What attributes do you think Zach Aston-Reese has that will translate best to the NHL?

He's a strong finisher that plays a fairly physical game that I think gives him a chance to be a regular NHLer. Plus shot, plus-plus two-way game. Like most good college players he just sees everything very well, and from what I understand he's a big-time studier insofar as he goes above and beyond in the video room to understand his weaknesses, opponents, and so on. Doesn't guarantee you success, of course, but it probably helps you along the way.

How was his ability to make controlled entries and exits at the college level? Can he create for others?

I literally didn't see much all year that he didn't do well, and controlling the puck is certainly among them. Northeastern liked to play dump-and-chase at times because they're a bigger team, but Aston-Reese is good with the puck on and off his stick. Again, it's about awareness.

I mean obviously he can create, because he had 32 assists in 38 games this year, and 82 in 145 in his career. But this year's numbers are a little skewed because he played a big chunk of the season without his two linemates. He might have finished with more otherwise.

Past Hobey Baker winners/candidates have struggled to acclimate themselves to the NHL level. What kind of NHL career do you see Aston-Reese having?

I think he has a decent chance to be bottom-six right this second, even though they're sending him to WBS to start his career. Let's put it this way: He had a better college career than either Connor Sheary or Scott Wilson, and was only a year older than when they jumped to the pros. Doesn't always translate but I think he can be in that range.

How do you like his fit in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization?

Pittsburgh has a tendency to make good calls on college players, and as I wrote last week I think this kid is NHL-ready right now. You'd know the Penguins' need for a left shot RW better than I do, but given everything he does I really like his chances to stick.

Please be sure to check out Ryan's hockey writing at Yahoo! Sports and his Stick to Sports podcast which he co-hosts with Pittsburgh Post Gazette writer, Sean Gentille

So there's the breakdown from somebody who is very knowledgeable about Hockey East and saw Zach Aston-Reese play in person multiple times this year.

This doesn't mean that Aston-Reese is a sure thing. It just means the Penguins have made a great risk-reward decision that has a decent probability of panning out.

Zach Aston-Reese won't be seeing any NHL action this year. He signed an amateur tryout contract and will start with the Baby Penguins. This prevents his entry level contract from beginning this year.