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Pittsburgh Penguins Sign Zach Aston-Reese to Entry-Level Contract

By Matthew Rodrigopulle

Feb 17, 2017; Columbus, OH, USA; A view of the Pittsburgh Penguins logo on a jersey at Nationwide Arena. The Blue Jackets won 2-1 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 17, 2017; Columbus, OH, USA; A view of the Pittsburgh Penguins logo on a jersey at Nationwide Arena. The Blue Jackets won 2-1 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed college free agent Zach Aston-Reese to a to a two-year entry-level contract, the club announced Tuesday.

Aston-Reese’s contract is set to begin next season with the Pittsburgh Penguins. As a result, he will play for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this weekend on an amateur tryout contract.

The college forward who played for Northeastern University in NCAA is a solid pickup for the Penguins prospect pool. His signing isn’t anything major, but he can make a difference in the Penguins system. So who exactly is Zach Aston-Reese?

Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Penguins /

Pittsburgh Penguins

By the numbers

Aston-Reese has put up a spectacular season for Northeastern this season in college hockey. He recently completed a successful four-year career, putting up 31 goals and 32 assists for 63 points in just 38 games.

To put things in perspective, a player at Northeastern hasn’t put up at least 30 goals and 30 assists in a season since 1985-86.

His efforts placed him as the NCAA leader in points and goals this season. He also placed second in points per game (1.66). Over his entire four-year college career, he averaged over a point per game with 66 goals and 82 assists for 148 points in 145 games.

Although not the best overall college career, his final season shows that he is a prospect who is heating up. He is also a nominee for the Hobey Baker Award for the top college hockey player. The prestigious award has seen many nominees and winners who have went on to have very successful NHL careers, including Jack Eichel, Cam Atkinson, Justin Schultz, Shayne Gostisbehere, and Johnny Gaudreau. With such an amazing season like he’s had, Aston-Reese might even take the prize home this year.

The verdict

So here is where I share my thoughts on this signing. It’s honestly not the biggest news to critique but it definitely is something.

Overall, I really think this is a great signing. You know why? Because it’s basically a really good, free prospect. What’s there not to like about it?

Aston-Reese actually seems to have the potential to turn into quite a good NHL player if all goes well. Like I mentioned before, he’s nominated for the Hobey Baker award this year, and he might actually have a solid chance to take the prize. Producing nominees and winners like Jack Eichel, Kyle Connor, and Jimmy Vesey, it’s not even that big of a deal if he wins or not, because he’s already shown he can perform like these players have.

Now I’m not saying this is an amazing signing–it’s really not a signing that you’d throw a parade for. But this is a very good, cheap, and mainly FREE pickup that the Penguins are smart for taking. There were no cons to signing the kid, and it’s great that they took a chance on him.

The Penguins are making a good effort to try and build up their prospect pool again to contend for a long time. This signing is right up that alley and it really has the potential to pay off well.

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