Comets add Tristan Ashbrook on one-year AHL deal
Tristan Ashbrook gives Utica a right-shot center with scoring history, plus another forward option as the Comets keep building for 2026-27.
The Utica Comets added Tristan Ashbrook on a one-year AHL contract, giving New Jersey’s affiliate another right-shot forward with a track record of producing when the games tighten up. The signing, listed on the club’s roster tracker on July 10, fits into a busy early-July run of moves as Utica keeps shaping the forward group for 2026-27.
Ashbrook is a 27-year-old center from Manistique, Michigan, listed at 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds, and the Comets have him as a right shot. He skated at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute before finishing his college path at Michigan Tech, and that mix of stops has left him with the kind of resume AHL teams keep circling back to when they need usable depth down the middle. He has already moved through several leagues and roles, which matters for a Comets roster that needs more than just bodies: it needs players who can step into NHL-call-up minutes without forcing the lineup to be rebuilt behind them.
The most relevant numbers came in Adirondack, where Ashbrook spent the 2023-24 season in the Devils’ ECHL ecosystem and piled up 32 goals and 25 assists for 57 points in 69 regular-season games. He carried that offense into the Kelly Cup playoffs, adding 8 goals and 8 assists in 19 games. That is the profile of a forward who can support a scoring line or supply offense from the middle six, not just a depth piece surviving on pace.
His 2024-25 season was split between four AHL clubs, Cleveland, Belleville, Providence and Iowa, before he returned to the ECHL with Cincinnati. Last season, he played in Finland’s Liiga with HIFK in Helsinki and posted 6 goals and 10 assists for 16 points in 39 regular-season games, then added 2 assists in 5 playoff games. Even with the league hop, the through line is clear: Ashbrook has kept finding points.
For Utica and the Devils, that matters. A one-year AHL deal on a right-shot center suggests the organization is still stacking call-up options that can survive a heavier NHL look if the injuries hit or the parent club needs a plug-in forward. Ashbrook does not look like a pure placeholder. He looks like a roster piece with enough offense, enough experience, and enough versatility to compete for a real spot when the Comets open their 2026-27 home schedule against Rochester on October 10 at 6 p.m. at Adirondack Bank Center.
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