The prospects who tend to stand out in tournaments like Buffalo's Prospects Challenge aren't always the team's top prospects, like recent first-round picks or guys with a few NHL games under their belt already.

Oftentimes in this setting, it's the scrappy, high-energy players who have a strong overall two-way game who end up being the stars of the tournament. When it's a weekday afternoon in September before training camp has even started, the intensity of these games isn't always that high. But if a player is the type who is able to get under the skin of opponents and swing momentum, ideally chipping in offensively and being smart away from the puck, they're going to stand out for the better.

With this group of 24 prospects that the Penguins are bringing to Buffalo, two forwards stand out as fitting that description: Avery Hayes, the formerly AHL-contracted forward who was the star of the Penguins' tournament victory last summer for all of those reasons, kickstarting a strong season that saw him signed to an NHL contract ... and his brother, Travis Hayes, the Soo Greyhound product who was the Penguins' fourth-round pick in this summer's draft.

When the Penguins drafted Travis, Kyle Dubas immediately said in the team's war room that they'd have to put the brothers together on a line for this tournament. But based on Thursday's practice at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, it doesn't look like that'll happen just yet. Avery skated on a line centered by Ben Kindel and opposite Kale Dach, while Travis skated alongside center Tristan Broz and opposite Ville Koivunen. 

Both brothers said they haven't heard anything from the coaching staff either way whether they'll end up on a line together over these three games. Regardless, they're just happy to be teammates for the first time in their lives.

"Oh, I'm super excited," Avery said after the session. "I never got to play with any of my brothers or against them, so it's gonna be a fun experience."

I asked both Avery and Travis what kind of identity a potential Hayes-Hayes line would have, and both grinned at the thought of what they could do together.

"We'd have some grit, some passion, some compete, and hopefully a little bit of chemistry," Avery said. "I think maybe a little bit of arguing on the bench, but that's OK. It'd be fun."

"A lot of grit," Travis said. "We'd get under the other opponents' skin, and obviously bring a lot of skill. So those two things for sure."

For Travis, who just turned 18 a week ago, this will be the first opportunity he has since being drafted to play in a real game against another team, and he's looking to leave a good impression before he heads back to junior.

"I just want to show that I can play with the the older guys and hopefully outperform the opponents," Travis explained.

For 22-year-old Avery, the goals aren't too different. Sure, he's played in this tournament before, and he's already an established AHL player. But after finishing the season as Wilkes-Barre's leading goal-scorer with a 23-goal campaign to go along with his 19 assists, he's one of the forwards who is seriously going to push for NHL time this season. Though he can't secure that spot with a good showing this week alone, dominating here would be a boost to his stock once the season starts.

"Especially with a new (coaching) staff coming in, this is everyone's first impression of you," Avery said. "So I'm just going to go there, try to play the right way, try to play winning hockey, and hopefully show that I can make it to the next level this year."

Whether or not they share a line, the Hayes' grit, energy, and competitive edge are the kinds of traits that resonate in tournaments like this, and could one day resonate in Pittsburgh, too.