Zach Aston-Reese has been skating at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex since Aug. 1, an early arrival that he hopes will give him a leg up on getting acclimated to the NHL.
He’s not the only one, either.
Aston-Reese, Freddie Tiffels, Adam Johnson and Thomas Di Pauli rented a house “a couple miles” from the Penguins practice facility, all for the same purpose.
Smart move, for one.
And, hey, if the group needed something to do during down time, there’s always this: It wouldn’t exactly be a waste of time to sift through players who’ve taken part in past four rookie tournaments, which these four will do for the Prospects Challenge Friday, Saturday and Monday at the HarborCenter in Buffalo.