Kevin Hayes and J.T. Miller are tied for the team lead in scoring

Kevin Hayes and J.T. Miller are tied for the team lead in scoring

There are many reasons for the Rangers’ early-season success, but chief among them is the emergence of a group of Blueshirts that are thriving in the second stage of their careers.

J.T. Miller, Kevin Hayes, Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad have been in the NHL for several years now and seen varying degrees of success. But all have now gotten past most of their growing pains and are really beginning to come into their own.

Miller and Hayes in particular have seen a giant leap in production and responsibility that we hoped would come last season. Now, both players have earned Alain Vigneault’s full trust, are playing in all situations and contributing on the scoresheet.

These players comprise an often-overlooked tier of roster building, sandwiched between the able veterans and raw untapped talent that’s so easy for fans to get excited about. What separates a well-oiled franchise machine from the rest of the pack is having all three groups progressing together and being able to replace players in the veteran group as they price out or begin to decline.

This is the model the Blackhawks have mastered so well in recent years. Their veteran leadership group of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Corey Crawford is second to none. And Chicago has groomed youngsters like Andrew Ladd, Nick Leddy and Dustin Byfuglien into key contributors before ultimately jettisoning them due to cap constraints. But always, the Blackhawks have had a new wave waiting in the wings – be it Artemi Panarin, Brandon Saad, or Teuvo Teravainen.

New York has the first group covered, with long-time Blueshirts Henrik Lundqvist, Rick Nash, Mats Zuccarello, Derek Stepan, Ryan McDonagh and Marc Staal all battle-tested and mostly still playing at a high level.

In the third bucket, Pavel Buchnevich and Jimmy Vesey are exciting new toys, but they’re really complimentary players at this point. There’s plenty of promise for greater things ahead, but as with any rookies, there will be bumps in the road – be they a three-week vacation for core strengthening, or a goal drought. Brady Skjei falls in this group, too, but obviously he is being counted on much more heavily this season because of the state of the defense.

It’s hard to keep all three groups fully stocked. Veteran teams often mortgage the young assets that comprise the third tier in hopes of securing the final pieces of the puzzle to win immediately. And rebuilding teams are often bereft of veterans, because they’re the pieces that get pawned off for futures.

But the Blueshirts have done an impressive job assembling an ideal mix of players up front that are at the different phases of their careers.

There’s credit due all around here. All of Miller, Hayes, Kreider and Zibanejad have faced tough criticism over the course of their young careers about everything from conditioning, to consistency, to defensive effort. Each has taken his lumps in stride and come out the other side on the verge of stardom.

The coaching staff has also been blasted by fans over its supposed bias against young players and unwillingness to give them opportunities. But there’s mounting evidence that player development is a real strength of these bench bosses, who have exercised patience and done plenty of teaching behind the scenes to help these players progress.

And, of course, GM Jeff Gorton has assembled a wonderful group of talented players that’s all the more impressive given New York’s dearth of first- and second-round draft picks for the last several years.

Before long it will be Buchnevich, Vesey and Skjei reaching these crossroads, and bolstering the suddenly-long-in-the-tooth group of Miller, Hayes, Kreider and Zibanejad. Such is the circle of life in the NHL.

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