Avery Hayes Named AHL Player of the Week
AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

Avery Hayes Named AHL Player of the Week

Published on February 9, 2026 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins News Release


WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - The American Hockey League announced today that Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins forward Avery Hayes has been selected as the Howie's Hockey Tape/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Feb. 8, 2026.

Hayes posted four goals in two contests, including both game-winning goals, for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last week while also having a National Hockey League debut for the ages on Thursday.

Hayes sparked Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to a 4-1 victory over the Hershey Bears on Wednesday night, scoring the go-ahead goal with 12:05 remaining in regulation. He then got the call to join the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday morning, shuttled from Northeast PA to Buffalo, New York for game time, and became just the seventh player in NHL history to score two goals in the first period of their NHL debut. Hayes' jaw-dropping, first-period performance ultimately led Pittsburgh to a 5-2 win. Hayes returned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's lineup on Saturday and posted his first career hat trick, capped with the overtime winner in a 4-3 triumph at Hershey.

Beyond this week, Hayes has found the back of the net in each of his last four AHL games, and he is on a career-best seven-game point streak.

Hayes has recorded 16 goals and 10 assists for 26 points in 32 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season, his third as a pro season. The 23-year-old native of Westland, Michigan has appeared in 121 career AHL contests with the Penguins, totaling 45 goals and 32 assists for 77 points. A two-time champion in the Ontario Hockey League, Hayes played the first two seasons of his career on an AHL contract before earning a two-year, NHL deal with Pittsburgh on Mar. 13, 2025.

This is the second-straight week that a Penguin has won Howie's Hockey Tape/AHL Player of the Week, as well as the third time this season. Defenseman Matt Dumba secured the honor a week ago on Feb. 2, and forward Rafaël Harvey-Pinard did so on Dec. 29.

Hayes and the Penguins are currently relaxing during the AHL All-Star Break, but the team will be back in action on Valentine's Day when it hosts the Syracuse Crunch on Saturday, Feb. 14. Puck drop between the Penguins and Crunch is set for 6:05 p.m. on Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.

Season-ticket packages for the Penguins' 2025-26 season, including 12-game, Flexbook and Premium Seating plans, as well as Corporate Partnership opportunities are available by reaching out to the Penguins directly at (570) 208-7367. Individual-game tickets are also available by visiting

Ticketmaster.com, the Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza Box Office or calling the Penguins' front office at (570) 208-7367.

Fans can download the team's full slate of games at 2025-26-WBS-Schedule.pdf.

Every minute of Penguins hockey can be watched online with the league's streaming service, AHLTV on FloHockey. AHLTV on FloHockey provides its subscribers access to not just every regular-season and Calder Cup Playoff game for all 32 AHL teams, but also more than 21,000 hockey contests from other professional and junior leagues on FloHockey, as well as access to all other live event streams and replays across FloSports.

Check out the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from February 9, 2026


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