Typically, in the career arch of an NHL player, someone is what they are by age 25. Depending on what age they finally break through and become a regular in the best league on the planet, this age can be slightly higher or lower. For Kevin Hayes, who played four years at Boston College, his path was different.
When the forward came to the New York Rangers in the summer of 2014, he was a much-needed injection of youth on a veteran team that had just lost the Stanley Cup final to the Los Angeles Kings in five games.