Hayes Looking To Build Off Strong Finish To 2023-24 Season

Things didn't exactly go as planned for rookie forward Avery Hayes with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, but he made quite an impact down the stretch last season and looking to build off of last year's finish to remain a go-to player for the Penguins in 2024-25.

A long-term injury sustained in just his 10th career AHL game back in November derailed his first scheduled full season of pro hockey, causing him to miss 42 games before returning on March 1. Most nights, especially early on in the season, Hayes was the lone injury scratch watching the Penguins' home games from upstairs in corner alongside the media area at Mohegan Sun Arena.

"Yeah, it was definitely a long, long time being out," Hayes recalled in April after his return. "It's super tough watching. You want to be out there helping the guys win."

After going pointless in his first 10 games back in action, things started to click for Hayes beginning with his first AHL goal in the Penguins' final game in March - a game-tying goal in the closing minutes of the third period that helped the Penguins to an overtime win over rival Lehigh Valley.

"Nothing was really bouncing my way, and when that's happening you get pretty frustrated," Hayes told InsideAHLHockey.com in April so it was nice to see the first one going in,"

In April, he started to fill the net - finishing the year with six goals and two assists in the teams' final nine games of the 2023-24 campaign.

"I feel like [when] I saw that first one go in I kind of felt like a weight lifted off my back. I've just been playing with a bit more confidence."

Now former Penguins head coach JD Forrest was also impressed with Hayes return from a lengthy injury and becoming a key contributor offensively in the final month of the season.

"I think he just needed to get the one, and then that kind of opened the doors for him," Forrest said of Hayes' strong play in April. "He [took] advantage of [the opportunity], and that's a good thing."

Entering this weekend's Prospects Challenge in Buffalo, NY from Friday, Sept. 13 to Monday, Sept. 16 Hayes will have the opportunity to not only pick up where he finished last year, but also make a good first impression with new Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins head Kirk MacDonald.