Penguins winger Zach Aston-Reese has fully recovered from the broken jaw and concussion he sustained on a hit in the second round of the postseason, notes NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman. Prior to the injury, he had played a regular role for Pittsburgh in the playoffs and should get a chance to push for a full-time spot on the wing in training camp after the team dealt Conor Sheary to Buffalo while non-tendering Tom Kuhnhackl back in June. However, with a cap hit ($925K) that’s higher than some of the other veterans on the depth chart, there’s a chance that the team could still opt to start him in the minors to keep a bit more cap space available for midseason movement as well; the 24-year-old still has one year of waiver exemption remaining.
More prospect notes from around the hockey world:
- While Stars prospect Jermaine Loewen is eligible to turn pro for the upcoming season, Player Development Coordinator Rich Peverley told NHL.com’s Jeff Miller that the current plan is for the winger to return to Kamloops of the WHL next season. Loewen, who was selected 199th overall back in June, is the first ever Jamaican-born player to be drafted into the NHL and led the Blazers in goals (36) and points (64) last season. The 20-year-old has not signed his entry-level deal as of yet and likely won’t do so until next year at the earliest as his deal would not be eligible to slide a year unlike many players picked from this draft class.
- Tanner Jaillet was one of the top goalies in college hockey last season after posting a 1.88 GAA and a .928 SV% at the University of Denver in his senior year which landed him on our list of top college goalie free agents back in March. Despite that, he wasn’t able to land an NHL contract and has instead inked a tryout with Wolfsburg, the DEL team announced (link in German). A lack of size clearly worked against the back-to-back NCHC Goalie of the Year winner as he stands just 5’11 but it appears he’ll have to prove himself overseas before landing an NHL deal.