When Zach Aston-Reese woke up the morning of Sept. 26, he was feeling strong. The Pittsburgh Penguins forward felt as if he was having an excellent training camp after a solid offseason of preparation.

Most of all, he felt healthy.

Then, in a significant surprise to the vaccinated Aston-Reese, he tested positive for covid-19.

“It was like as soon as I found out, all the symptoms hit me,” Aston-Reese said after Monday’s Penguins practice. “It kind of felt like I had the flu for five days, and unfortunately I had pretty bad symptoms.”

A 12-day absence from the ice resulted, and suddenly all the momentum Aston-Reese had built up in feeling certain he was in for a career year was replaced by feelings of sluggishness and a need to “catch up” to teammates and peers from the around the league who weren’t home-ridden for a week or more.

“Getting back has been a process,” Aston-Reese said from UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry, “and it’s something I have am still dealing with a little bit. Getting the lungs going has been a little tough, but I am back to working hard and hopefully in the next couple weeks I will be feeling myself again.”

That can’t come soon enough for a Penguins’ forward depth chart already reeling with the absence of its top four forwards in Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust.

The bout with covid was just the latest in an eventful NHL career for Aston-Reese, the feisty, skilled and versatile 27-year-old forward who is embarking on his fifth season with the Penguins.

“We think Zach’s a real good player,” said Penguins coach Mike Sullivan, who noted Aston-Reese’s 24 even-strength goals in 162 career games.

“That’s good offensive production, (and) he’s a real good penalty killer … (with) a great defensive conscience, he’s strong on the walls. So he’s an important player for us. We think he’s making strides. Each year that he’s come back, he’s a little stronger and a little more confident. I think his expectation grows as far as his individual game so we are looking forward to seeing where we can bring his game this year.”

Aston-Reese still is battling some lethargy, and he said in talking to teammates and others who had bouts with covid he learned it is not uncommon that such feelings linger for about four weeks.

“I am trying to fast track it a little bit,” he said, “but there is no way of getting in game shape other than playing.”

Aston-Reese made his season debut during Saturday’s home opener, a 5-1 win against the Chicago Blackhawks. He’s set to be in the lineup again Tuesday against the Dallas Stars.

Guentzel’s positive test, which came a week after Aston-Reese’s, was accompanied by no symptoms — and as a result, less time off the ice for Guentzel than for Aston-Reese.

“It’s so interesting that it affects people so differently,” defenseman Mike Matheson said. “It sounds like (Aston-Reese) was going through a few rough days there, so it was nice to have him back for sure.”

Sullivan said the Penguins tightened protocols in a proactive effort to prevent a possible team-wide covid breakout, something that by all indications was avoided.

Aston-Reese’s plight serves as a reminder to the organization that even as this season is much closer to “normal” than the prior 20 months was, the specter of covid still is present.

“Hopefully, moving forward there’s no more cases on the team, and I got it out of the way for good,” Aston-Reese said. “I am hoping in the next couple weeks it will just be something I look back on and not even be a thing anymore.”

Keep up with the Pittsburgh Penguins all season long.

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