Undrafted forward Avery Hayes gives Penguins coaches something to consider

On a night that was simply spectacular, it might have been the most spectacular moment.

During a 4-1 home preseason win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday at PPG Paints Arena, a contest that served as a lavish send-off for franchise icon Marc-Andre Fleury, the Penguins’ opening goal was a dynamic work of precision.

Forward Sidney Crosby scored the goal by racing into the offensive zone past Blue Jackets defenseman Jake Christiansen and floating a wrister to the far side past goaltender Elvis Merzlikins’ blocker.

The goal was nice. But the pass, arguably, was much better.

After settling a puck near the visiting penalty box, Penguins defenseman Kris Letang fed it across the ice in front of the home bench.

From there, Penguins forward prospect Avery Hayes drew in Christiansen, then deftly tapped a backhanded pass to Crosby, who completed the sequence.

Sid gets the @penguins on the board on Flower's special night ???? pic.twitter.com/Uaa1geXn8g

— NHL (@NHL) September 28, 2025

“There was a chip out, and (Letang) made a great play up to me,” Hayes said Monday in Cranberry. “Sid did a great job of supporting me in the middle. I just bumped it to him, and he did the rest. So, it was pretty easy for me.”

Getting to this point of his professional existence has been anything but easy for Hayes.

Undrafted, Hayes finished his junior career with the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League in 2023 and signed a two-year American Hockey League contract with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in June of that year.

Hobbled by injuries, Hayes split the 2023-24 campaign between Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Wheeling of the ECHL, appearing in a combined 30 games with the two squads.

His second professional season saw a huge jump.

Skating in 60 games — all with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton — he posted 42 points, including a team-leading 23 goals. He also paced the squad with six winning goals.

That output led to him earning a two-year entry-level NHL contract with the Penguins on March 13.

Six months later, he is occasionally skating with Crosby and facing a very real possibility of graduating to the NHL.

“(Coaches) just tell everyone to be yourself, be the best version of yourself,” said Hayes, a right-handed shot. “And you’re here for a reason. So you just have to play your own game, and things will end up as they should.”

Hayes, who turns 23 on Oct. 10, ended up on Crosby’s line for Saturday’s game and drew considerable benefit from the assignment.

“He’s such a good guy,” Hayes said of Crosby. “He makes it so easy to just play off him. At the end of the day, he’s just another hockey player. I mean, he’s arguably the best ever to do it. But just another hockey player, and you just have to treat it like that. It was really cool. He made it easy for me.”

His play has made it easy for coaches to offer positive reviews.

“He made a nice play there, assisting on Sid’s goal there the other night,” coach Dan Muse said. “A nice touch play. He’s a guy that’s a younger player. Anytime there’s these game situations, it’s, for him, an opportunity to work to apply those parts of his game to this level. It’s an important part of his process. It’s been solid.”

Beyond his solid offensive figures, Hayes also offers a combative element despite being modestly sized at 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds. Last season, he collected 58 penalty minutes, second-most on the AHL Penguins.

“As a smaller guy, you need any edge you can get,” he said. “Every team needs a guy that can kind of agitate. So, I don’t mind playing that role. It’s fun for me. It keeps me involved in the game.”

During a 5-3 road preseason win against the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday, Hayes scored his first goal of the preseason at 19:54 of the second period during a power-play sequence by converting on a goalmouth scramble.

Avery Hayes has been turning heads this preseason. Here's how his power play goal sounded on the Penguins Radio Network pic.twitter.com/ExrVbAJk7A

— Penguins Live (@penguinslive) October 2, 2025

Logging 15:02 of ice time on 20 shifts, Hayes recorded three shots on six attempts.

As for potentially playing in regular-season NHL games, Hayes pledges to keep that pursuit simple.

“Just play my game,” Hayes said. “I’m there for a reason. I just have to believe that.”