Part of what makes sports so great from the fan perspective is getting to watch young players grow into who they are. While athletes have lives outside of the sport they play, fans are often introduced to a raw talent that’s either a teenager or in their early 20s and get to watch them grow up before their very eyes.
In the case of the New York Rangers, there are few fanbases more loyal and dedicated. Look at the reverence given to former players like Adam Graves or Mark Messier more than a decade after the last time either laced up a pair of skates and took the ice at Madison Square Garden.