PensBurgh Top-25 Under 25: No. 18 Avery Hayes

A well earned contract has Avery Hayes pushing for an NHL spot with the Penguins.

His newly drafted brother already made an appearance earlier in the countdown, but now it’s time to take a look at Avery Hayes, the young forward who turned heads in the AHL last season.

Catch up on the previous entries for this year:

Pensburgh Top 25 Under 25: Graduates and Departed players in 2025
Top 25 Under 25: The best of the rest
No. 25: Quinn Beauchense
No. 24: Cruz Lucius
No. 23: Travis Hayes
No. 22: Brady Peddle
No. 21: Finn Harding
No. 20: Sam Poulin
No. 19: Joona Vaisanen

#18: Avery Hayes, RW
2024 Ranking: NR
Age: 22 (October 10, 2002)
Acquired Via: Undrafted. Signed AHL deal with WBS. Signed to NHL deal with Pittsburgh Penguins in March 2025.
Height/Weight: 5-foot-10, 174 pounds

Elite Prospects resume:.

A two-time OHL champion at the junior level, Avery Hayes saw himself go undrafted during his draft year and had to take the more difficult path to the pros, but a path has been taken by many before him and led to great NHL careers.

After not being selected in the 2023 NHL Draft, Hayes hit the market as an undrafted free agent, eventually signing with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL. During his first pro season, Hayes posted nine points in 29 games with the Baby Pens, enough to earn himself another season with the team for 2024-25.

His development took a major step forward last season in the AHL, becoming one of the Baby Penguins most potent offensive threats, posting 42 points in 60 games, good enough for fifth on the team. Perhaps even more notably was his scoring touch that helped him pot 23 goals, tied with Emil Bemstrom for most on the team.

Hayes’ breakout 2024-25 campaign paid huge dividends for his hockey career as it earned him his first NHL contract, agreeing to a two-year entry level deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins in March. Prior to signing the deal, hype was already developing around what Hayes was doing in Wilkes-Barre and by inking the deal, many wonder if he could be battle for an opening night roster position during training camp.

Per Trib Live:

And his first taste of professional hockey was somewhat unappetizing as a broken sternum limited him to only 29 AHL games and nine points (six goals, three assists) in 2023-24 while largely inhabiting a bottom-six role.

Fully healthy entering the 2024-25 season, Hayes graduated to a steady role on the top two lines and led Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in goals.

After Hayes displayed a blend of skill, speed and grit, the Penguins signed him to an entry-level contract in mid-March.

Perhaps the keynote game of Hayes’ season was a 4-3 overtime home win against the Hartford Wolf Pack on March 26 in which the Penguins secured a playoff berth.

Cont. from the Trib:

The Pittsburgh Penguins are understandably turning to the future after three consecutive seasons without a playoff appearance.

But it might be a tad bit premature to assume Hayes will be someone who gets an immediate look for a spot on the NHL roster this September in training camp. He has a single strong professional season on his resume and certainly has plenty of room to develop. Beyond that, the Penguins have some more talented candidates in their prospect pool among wingers.

That said, he has all the attributes to be a steady third-line winger in the NHL. He offers some scoring touch, a nice amount of speed and isn’t afraid to play a hard game despite limited size. Additionally, the way he earned his chance in the NHL illustrates a determined work ethic.

He has earned a contract. Now, it’s time to time to earn a job.

It’s clear from the contract offer that the Penguins see something in Hayes they believe can translate to the NHL level. There may be some bumps to iron out with more development this coming season, but Hayes has done all that has been asked of him and created a path for himself to be an NHL player.

Ironically enough, as Hayes adds much needed depth to a still rebuilding prospect pool and has the looks of being a higher upside project, it was actually the complete empty cupboards in the Penguins system that led Hayes to choose the Penguins organization when he was passed over in the draft.

From the PPG:

Hayes signed with the Baby Pens because he saw “a depleted prospect pool,” which he believed gave him the best opportunity to climb an organization’s depth chart.

“I thought I could be one of their younger guys right away,” he said. “Obviously, now we have great prospects. It’s awesome to see how far it’s come in just one year.”I

When we talk about prospects being lottery tickets, Hayes is the perfect example of what we mean. He came to the Penguins as basically a one dollar scratcher, and while they are still clearing the boxes on his ticket, the odds are leaning in the Penguins favor that they may have pulled a winner.