Eleven months ago, I was doing some digging through the stats of Pittsburgh’s prospect system. I was looking over stats and the occasional highlights, and during my search, one guy started to stick out to me.
Avery Hayes.
At this point in the time, the organization’s prospect pool was still relatively thin. Yes, the Penguins did have legitimate names in their system for the first time truly in a generation, and guys like Rutger McGroarty, Owen Pickering, Ville Koivunen, and Sergei Murashov headlined that list. But in hindsight, this list was still pretty weak at the time.
This this was also before the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. This was before the Penguins added three first-round picks and 13 total selections to the mix. Even if it was improving, Pittsburgh’s prospect situation looked a lot different at this time last year.
And yet, Hayes was still mostly an unknown at the time. He still wasn’t on the same level of name recognition as someone like Harrison Brunicke, Joel Blomqvist, or even Vasily Ponomarev. One could argue that he was falling even further down the list.
But he had some intriguing numbers for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins as a young forward in the American Hockey League. He would have to fight for it, but maybe, just maybe there was an NHL player in there.
He certainly made that argument for himself last night, capitalizing on his opportunity to finally dawn a big league sweater.
A last-minute call up due to the absences of Noel Acciari (injury) and Blake Lizotte (wife having a baby), Hayes was recalled yesterday afternoon from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Hayes raced to meet the team in Buffalo, where the Penguins were playing their final game before the league sends their best off to Milan for the Winter Olympics. He arrived just in time, utilizing the parking lot to finish getting ready.
For his NHL debut, Hayes was placed on the fourth line wing, centered by Kevin Hayes (no relation) and flanked by Rutger McGroarty, his pal from WBS. Hayes and McGroarty worked extemely well together in the AHL, and isn’t it fitting that he would notch an assist on Hayes’ first in the show?
Less than ten minutes in, Hayes potted his first goal as an NHLer, ripping one past Buffalo’s Alex Lyon to tie the game at 1-1.
And this wasn’t just any goal, it was one that showed the kind of work ethic you love to see from a young player like this. Hayes beat the rush and split both Buffalo defenders to get to the puck worst. He wanted it more than either of the Sabres did, and he made them pay for it.
He wasn’t done, though.
In the AHL, Hayes showed multiple ways he could score goals. He could score in stride charging down the ice, and he could score using a net-front presence. For his second in the bigs, he found himself to be in the right place at the right time.
Receiving the puck thanks to a beautiful pass from Anthony Mantha, Hayes was able to snipe one past Lyon from just a few feet out in front of the net. He found a way to sneak right near the blue paint and cashed in to give his team the lead.
Hayes finished this game adding two hits and a +2 rating to the two goals he scored, logging 14 shifts and 10:09 of ice time. He was incredibly efficient in making the most of his opportunities.
Hayes became just the third player in franchise history to score multiple goals in his NHL debut, joining Jake Guentzel back in 2016 and Rob Brown in 1987. That’s some pretty good company.
“It was a pretty quick turnaround,” Hayes said during the first intermission. “But honestly, it was probably a good thing, because I didn’t have much time to think or stress about it, so I just got to go out there and play.”
And something tells me that a lot of Penguins fans are eager to see him go out there and play much more in the near future.
For Hayes, it’s just the start of the next chapter for a type of story you rarely see succeed in the NHL. At 21, the Michigan-native had made the jump to pro and was competing for time in the AHL with the WBS Penguins. As an undrafted, slightly undersized forward, Hayes was fighting an uphill battle making a name for himself in the AHL.
And in his first year as a professional, he hadn’t really given anyone paying attention much to take notice of. He was hovering just around 0.30 points per game in the AHL. It was a harsh learning curve for Hayes, who in junior was well over a point-per-game in his final two years playing in the Ontario Hockey League.
Even if he was new to the pro game and still quite young, his AHL were not the kind of numbers that were going to put your name on prospect radars.
But with more time adapting, he carved out quite the role for himself with the WBS Penguins. In 60 AHL games last season, Hayes racked up 23 goals and 19 assists (42 points). He finished fifth on the team in points, but tied for the team-lead in goals. He wasn’t afraid of throwing the body and playing a physical game, either.
That season put up on the map in Pittsburgh’s front office. Towards the end of last season, the Penguins signed him to an entry-level contract that started with the 2025-26 campaign.
This season, the 23-year-old couldn’t secure an NHL job out of training camp, but he stood out among a crowded field of candidates down in the AHL. With some other prospects like Tristan Broz (who made his NHL debut for the organization back in November), Hayes was contending with a more crowded and developed field of options. He found a way to stand out.
It was so cool to see him make the absolute most of this opportunity. In a way, it’s a shame that his NHL debut comes right before the Olympic break. He can’t ride this momentum into immediate NHL success, and fans won’t get a chance to watch him until the end of the month.
Fifth Avenue Sports 
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