Avery Hayes has been lighting up the scoreboard in Wilkes-Barre Scranton and deserves more of an opportunity in the NHL if he can get it. Hayes was called up briefly right before the Olympic break for a road game at the Buffalo Sabres and scored 2 goals in his NHL debut, and one on his first shot.
Hayes has been catching the eye of the coaching staff and even general manager Kyle Dubas as Hayes was recently called back up to Pittsburgh out of the Olympic break. And with Penguins captain Sidney Crosby injured in the Olympics, Hayes took line rushes with Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust.
That is a big opportunity for Hayes, if Crosby were to miss time, to really prove himself and show the coaching staff and Dubas that his scoring pace is for real. Hayes has been scoring goals and making nifty plays in the AHL like it is nothing.
Hayes is becoming like Daniel Sprong where Sprong was way too good for the AHL, but the problem with Sprong was that he was not exactly able to translate that to the NHL. Now this is Hayes' chance to prove that he is legit and that he is not going to become a Sprong type of player.
With Crosby not yet being back from Milan and not yet being evaluated, Rakell took rushes as the first line center. That line has a lot of potential if Hayes can live up to the hype that he has been getting in Wilkes-Barre and really help on the scoreboard.
It also blows the mind of Penguins fans that Hayes was an undrafted free agent and now for him to be taking line rushes on the top line for the Penguins, is a hell of a moment for the kid. Penguins fans hope that he can really prove himself and make a name for himself with really talented players.