BRIGHTON — Jimmy Hayes came into his first season as a Bruin realizing that his dream became a reality.

That dream at the beginning of the year turned into a nightmare for Dorchester’s own and the former Boston College product.

A year removed from notching a career high 19 goals with the Panthers in 2014-15, the Bruins acquired the power forward in exchange for Reilly Smith and Marc Savard’s contract. With their team in a transitional phase, the B’s were hoping to get more progression from the 26-year-old.

What they got from Hayes instead was a year of long scoring droughts, including his final 16 games of the season where he failed to tally a single point. That led to head coach Claude Julien scratching Hayes — who spent most of his time between the third and fourth lines — for the last two games of the Bruins’ 2015-16 campaign.

“I think the lesson learned from last year is that you got to show up, especially at the end where we need everyone to have a full team effort to play our best games and get everyone going,” said Hayes, who tallied 13 goals and 16 assists in his frustrating first year in Boston. “If you continue to do that and have guys show up every night and find ways to contribute, we’ll put ourselves in a good spot. That’s where we want to be.”

That mindset is where Hayes wants to be personally as he enters his second year with the Black and Gold.

“Mindset is to be there and to be a contributor the entire season,” Hayes said following captains practice at Warrior Ice Arena on Tuesday. “I can’t go on those long scoring droughts and [I need to] find a way to produce for the entire season.”

In another season of transition, the Bruins need more production from Hayes.

With Loui Eriksson gone, there will be some competition to fill the Bruins’ top two lines. One of those spots could go to David Backes — if the Bruins opt him to play at wing — either alongside David Pastrnak and David Krejci or Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. That would lead one open spot for the B’s to fill either from within or through trade or free agency.

Hayes isn’t projected to crack the Bruins’ top-6 for the time being. Instead, he’ll likely be penciled in on the third or fourth line when the team opens the season in Columbus on October 13th.

From the leftovers on last year’s roster to guys from Providence looking to make the jump, there will be plenty of competition for roster spots on a nightly basis. That gives Hayes a little extra motivation to bounce back from last year.

“I think there’s going to be some competition throughout the entire season,” noted Hayes, who last tallied a point on February 24th against the Penguins. “There are some young guys here who want to play, and I want to play as well. So I think there’s going to be some friendly competition and guys are going to be pushing each other all year to be able to find a spot on any line and to be in the lineup every game.”

As one of Boston’s own, Hayes wants to give the city something to cheer for and help right the ship.

“We want our team to be a winning team. That’s what the city wants out of us, and that’s what we expect out of ourselves as well,” said Hayes. “Being a local kid, you don’t want to be the team that doesn’t make the playoffs. So, I think that’s the mindset with the team no matter where we were during the summer.”