Carolina Hurricanes sign forward Zach Aston-Reese to PTO
The Carolina Hurricanes have signed forward Zach Aston-Reese to a professional tryout agreement.
The #Canes have inked a seventh and final PTO, adding Zach Aston-Reese to their training camp roster.
The 29-year-old skated in 77 games with Toronto during the 2022-23 campaign.https://t.co/zA2lCFzuic
After playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs last season, Aston-Reese was an unrestricted free agent this summer. In 77 games played for Toronto, the defensive-minded center scored ten goals and registered four assists for a total of 14 points. The penalty-killing specialist also averaged 10:55 of ice time per game in 2022-23, including roughly one minute per night on the penalty kill.
The 29-year-old played college hockey at Northeastern University and made impressive offensive numbers. This earned the undrafted forward a contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins organization, where he spent most of his career. Aston-Reese also played for the Anaheim Ducks for a short stint of 17 games to end the 2021-22 season.
In 307 career games, Aston-Reese has scored 43 goals while putting up 38 assists for a total of 80 points. He has averaged 13:00 of ice time while mainly playing in the bottom six.
Aston Reese joins several other players on PTOs for the Hurricanes, including Cory Conacher, Kieffer Bellows, Jayden Halbgewachs, Brendan Perlini, Nick Shore, and defenseman Nathan Beaulieu. With seven players in total on PTOs for Carolina and six of them being forwards, there will be no shortage of competition deep in the lineup for one of the top teams in the NHL.
Last season, Calvin de Haan and Derek Stepan came to camp on professional tryouts and earned contracts for their efforts.
The Hurricanes will need at least 40 active players on September 29 when the team plays two preseason games against Tampa Bay and Florida. This could explain the large number of players coming to training camp on PTOs.