When the Penguins revealed their annual team award winners Tuesday afternoon, there was one category conspicuously absent. Kind of a big one, too: Rookie of the Year.
There wasn’t one because, well, there wasn’t a noteworthy rookie.
But, man, Zach Aston-Reese should have been. Probably would have been too, had his promising season not been cut down by injury. But the 23-year-old New Yorker says he's not looking back, only to the opportunities that still lie ahead.
"It's part of the game," he says matter of factly.
When Patric Hornqvist went out of the lineup with a lower body injury Feb. 2, Aston-Reese rose to the occasion after being called up. He was a net-front presence. He was strong on the forecheck, along the walls, and in the defensive zone. And, obviously, he could score goals.
Against the Senators Feb. 13, he scored twice, including this one where he showed soft hands, settling down a Sidney Crosby pass and firing a shot past Mike Condon to the far side:
Over a four-game stretch between Feb. 13-18, he scored four times. The 23-year-old was doing everything the Penguins possibly could have hoped for when they signed the Hobey Baker finalist last summer as an undrafted free agent out of Northeastern.
Then, two weeks later -- Feb. 26 -- he was gone.
That day's practice claimed Matt Murray with a concussion and Aston-Reese with an upper-body injury that sidelined him for a month. Murray's injury made the headlines, but don't underestimate Aston-Reese's loss to the Penguins. They were 7-2-1 with him in the lineup and are 7-4-2 without.
After such a meteoric start to his NHL career, it was frustrating, to say the least. Since returning to the lineup four games ago, it's been frustration on the scoresheet. While playing in a fourth-line role, he's had zero points and just two shots on goal.
"You always get a little frustrated when the puck's not going in the net for you but, at the same time, playing with (Tom Kuhnhackl) and (Josh Jooris) now, for what our role is, we've done a good job with it, not allowing goals against us and drawing penalties," he said.
After averaging nearly 15 minutes per game in his 10 games before the injury, he’s also seen his ice time decline. After receiving 11:36 vs. Detroit in his first game back -- "a tough one for me, just from a physical standpoint" -- those minutes have dipped to 5:57 vs. New Jersey, 7:16 vs. Montreal and 7:51 vs. Washington.
Those declining minutes correspond with the injury to Derick Brassard. When he went down with a groin injury (he’s still day-to-day), Riley Sheahan was promoted from the fourth line to the third. With Jooris now centering Aston-Reese and Kuhnhackl, the fourth line has been used sparingly.
Obviously, it's a different role than the one he had been playing pre-injury. Not that he's complaining about it.
"You want to bring energy," he said. "You play in different situations against different lines. It's kind of a tighter checking game. Instead of going against top lines that are skilled and might cheat offensively, you’re going against solid two-way players. Your strategy changes a little bit in your mindset."
Mike Sullivan has certainly been impressed with what he's seen from the youngster both before and after the injury. But he adds it's a matter of Aston-Reese having to establish himself in the league and getting his timing back.
"I’d like to find more minutes for him moving forward to give him an opportunity to get in the game a little more," the coach said.
One of the ways he's tried is by using Aston-Reese on the penalty kill, including 1:57 shorthanded against the Capitals on Sunday. It's a role Aston-Reese says he's always embraced. He played it all four years at Northeastern and this season in Wilkes-Barre, where he scored one short-handed goal.
Though his playoff role is still to be determined, Aston-Reese could certainly add some team toughness to the Penguins, who are undersized at the wing. Listed at 6-foot and 204-pounds, he plays far bigger than that, and with a bit of an edge. He had five fights this season in the AHL and, by all accounts, he more than held his own in that facet.
Penguins propsect Zachary Aston-Reese got into a nice scrap today. Credit to @hockeyfights https://t.co/dMZDSkTqcD
— One Fans View (@OneFanView) September 9, 2017
Here, Aston-Reese talks about about that part of his game:
No, fighting isn't typically part of playoff hockey, but Aston-Reese is looking forward to the postseason and getting back to playing the game as he had in February.
The scoring and minutes should come back when Brassard returns and the lines begin to sort themselves out. Sheahan -- who has been outstanding of late --- will likely move back down to the fourth line, giving the Penguins the depth down the middle they sought when they acquired Brassard.
It remains to be seen if Aston-Reese can be the playoff producer that Conor Sheary, Bryan Rust and Jake Guentzel were in each of the previous two springs, but this year's top rookie is itching to prove his worth in postseason play.
"My engagement level needs to be raised a little more and that’s something that comes with time," he said. "Over the last few games, I’m starting to throw a few more hits and get involved and engaged more. It’s only a matter of time before I am back to where I was."