Avery Hayes and Rutger McGroarty are both tied to the state of Michigan. Hayes was born and raised in Westland, a suburb of Detroit, while McGroarty moved there to play hockey at age 13.
They trained there this summer, albeit in different spots – Avery with his brothers, and Rutger at USA Hockey Arena. However, the guys and their girlfriends did make a trip ‘up north’ for the Fourth of July, which refers to the northern part of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula.
On that particular trip, they went to Grayling. But growing up, Hayes went even further on family trips, as they have a cottage in the Upper Peninsula near Michigan Tech University.
“The house has been in our family for a long time. So, we go up there once a summer for like, one week to two weeks in early August,” Hayes said. “It's nice, we have no service or anything, so you get to spend time with your family and all your cousins and stuff.”
Avery earned his first NHL contract in the spring after first joining the Penguins on an AHL-only deal. If he wasn’t on his current path, Avery wouldn’t mind relocating there full-time.
“I'd probably just live in northern Michigan and be a firefighter or something,” Avery said. “Or something outdoors.”
He got that from his dad, a landscaper who plows snow in the winter, while his mom is a receptionist. “The fact that they got us four boys through hockey with how expensive hockey is now, it’s incredible. I’m really happy and grateful to have them as my parents,” Avery said.
As detailed in this feature, Avery is the oldest, followed by Gavin, a 2022 third-round draft pick of the Chicago Blackhawks; Travis, who plays junior hockey for the Soo Greyhounds; and Elijah, whom the Soo Greyhounds took in the 2025 OHL Priority Selection.
“We all work out together, which is great. Makes it competitive and fun, and we can all drive together and stuff,” Avery said.
They ended up taking after their uncle Bobby Hayes, who played college hockey at the University of Michigan.
“He actually won two national championships at Michigan, ’96 and ’98,” Avery said. “It was nice having him around. He lives in Florida now, but every summer he’d come in and check on me and stuff. Just kind of ask him for advice.”
The best piece Avery has ever gotten is to believe in yourself.
“If you don’t, why would anyone else?” he said. “Just trust yourself and trust the work you put in. I’d say that’s the biggest thing.”
Avery grew up a Red Wings fan, and always loved Pavel Datsyuk.
“I mean, he's probably one of the most exciting players ever,” he said. “So, I loved watching him, (Henrik) Zetterberg, (Nicklas) Lidstrom... I mean, there's so many guys from that era that were amazing, and we were just so lucky to be able to watch them. But I was such a big fan of Datsyuk. I still watch his highlights. He has so many on YouTube. I’ve watched like, every single one. They're so fun to watch.”
One thing Avery doesn’t watch are movies.
“All my teammates give me crap about it,” Avery said, “My roommate last year, Scooter (Brickey), was really big into movies. He would always ask me and then make a list. So, we tried knocking a bunch of those out.”
He’s also pretty far behind when it comes to shows as well.
“My favorite is probably Game of Thrones. I just watched that for the first time last year. I'm super late to that,” Avery admitted with a laugh. “I don't know how I didn't have any spoilers. I'm recommending it to everyone.”
Finally, Avery’s go-to fun fact is that he is a quarter Japanese, as his paternal grandmother is from Japan. She lives close, and Avery’s been spoiled when it comes to her cooking.
“My grandma makes the best sushi ever,” he said. “Chicken Katsu, too. She would make these pork chops that are lightly fried. Then sukiyaki,” Hayes said, “She'd make that every Christmas, I was lucky with that. Really lucky. We would go over there every Sunday, and she'd make something.”
Traveling to Japan is on Avery’s bucket list, but in the meantime, their family has come to them.
“All my cousins would come visit,” Avery said. “We have a lot of family over there. They’ve seen me play hockey before, which is cool. They’ll message me on Instagram and stuff, so we keep in touch.”
