Anaheim Ducks Acquire Zach Aston-Reese, Dominik Simon, Calle Clang, And A 2022 Second-Round Selection From Pittsburgh

Mar 21, 2022

The Anaheim Ducks announced today that the National Hockey League (NHL) club has acquired left wing Zach Aston-Reese, center Dominik Simon, goaltender Calle Clang and a second-round selection in the 2022 NHL Draft from Pittsburgh for right wing Rickard Rakell.

Aston-Reese, 27 (8/10/94), scored 29-33=62 points with a +38 rating and 93 penalty minutes (PIM) in 213 career NHL games with Pittsburgh from 2017-22. The 6-0, 204-pound forward has earned 2-9=11 points with a +8 rating and 22 PIM in 52 games with the Penguins this season, tying his single-season career high with nine assists.

Signed by Pittsburgh as an undrafted free agent Mar. 14, 2017, Aston-Reese recorded a career-high 8-9=17 points in 2018-19. He has also appeared in 62 career American Hockey League (AHL) games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, earning 18-28=46 points. A native of Staten Island, N.Y., he spent four seasons at Northeastern University (2013-17), scoring 66-82=148 points with a +48 rating. In 2016-17, he led the NCAA in scoring (31-32=63) and goals.

Simon, 27 (8/8/94), has collected 22-51=73 points and 74 PIM in 239 career games with Pittsburgh and Calgary setting career highs in points (8-20=28), goals and assists in 2018-19. He has earned 3-6=9 points and 28 PIM in 55 games with the Penguins this season.

The 5-11, 190-pound forward registered 44-67=111 points in 160 AHL games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Stockton. Originally selected by Pittsburgh in the fifth round (137th overall) of the 2015 NHL Draft, the Prague, Czechia native represented his country at the 2015 World Championship (1-5=6), 2014 World Junior Championship (2-2=4) and 2012 World U-18 Championship (4-4=8).

Clang, 20 (5/20/02), has gone 10-5-0 with a 2.28 goals-against average (GAA) and .915 save percentage (SV%) in 17 games with Rogle of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) as a rookie this season. He also helped Rogle win the Champions Hockey League this season. In 2020-21, he made his SHL debut, appearing in one game with Rogle.

Originally selected by Pittsburgh in the third round (77th overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft, Clang was named the HockeyAllsvenskan (Sweden’s second division) Best Junior in 2020-21, appearing in 32 games (13-19-0) while posting a 2.46 GAA and .919 SV%.

The Olofstrom, Sweden native was named to Sweden’s rosters for the 2021 and 2022 World Junior Championships. He also helped Sweden earn medals at the 2019 World U-18 Championship (gold) and 2019 World U17 Hockey Challenge (bronze). 

Rakell, 28 (5/5/93), scored 154-185=339 points with 116 PIM in 550 career games with Anaheim. He concluded his Ducks career fifth in all-time goals, seventh in points and ninth in assists. The 6-1, 195-pound forward scored 16-12=28 points with eight PIM in 51 games with the Ducks this season.

A native of Sundbyberg, Sweden, Rakell won gold with Sweden at the 2018 World Championship and represented his country at the 2021 World Championship. He also appeared in three consecutive World Junior Championships, winning gold in 2012 and silver in 2013.