The Edmonton Oilers could be suitors for NCAA forward Zach Ashton-Reese, “Edmonton Journal” columnist Bruce McCurdy speculates.
Edmonton Oilers
As per The Hockey News columnist Ryan Kennedy, there are 15 teams interested in the 22-year-old.
The Northeastern Huskies centre is developing into a top free agent. In 37 games this season, Aston-Reese has 31 goals and 63 points and is a plus-14. He is versatile and can play either the centre or the wing, and he is a hard worker who can bring a lot of offensive edge to the ice.
"“He’s a smart 200-foot kind of guy. He doesn’t have a ton of size, but he plays bigger. He’s heavy on pucks, he’s responsible, he’s diligent, he works hard along the walls and he goes to the dirty areas and he’s got some jam. The offense has really come up in the last couple of seasons, especially this season, that’s getting a lot of people’s attentions, but the foundation is there.”-Kirk Luedeke, Red Line Report Scout, mentioned in Sports Illustrated."
The 6-foot, 204-pound forward is one that adds a lot of edge and effort to his game each night. He has seen a spike in offensive success this season and has plenty of drive in his game. One of the reasons he is such a quality forward is because of his work ethic.
Adding Aston-Reese would be excellent for Edmonton. First, he’s a right-hand shot, which will add depth and scoring to the wing. Additionally, he can win battles for the puck, add physicality to the team and play a solid two-way game.
Not to mention, he has experience with the organization. He attended the Oilers’ 2016 development camp, and he is a former teammate of Matthew Benning.
Aston-Reese could end up being a Drake Caggiula signing, which has seriously helped the team add more depth for the future while bringing in more scoring.