@heavydutyrammer In playing recently, it seems that part of it is getting players up from the AHL to the NHL around the time they hit 77 - 79. If they fit with the coach's scheme well, he will place them in a higher line than they otherwise would be entitled - I just had a 78 placed in the second line, because he fit in well with other low players in that line while Pierre-Luc Dubois was sent down as the 4th line center despite being at the number in the high eighties that won't be named. If they hold their potential and position, especially if under 27, they will grow in a few seasons from that. You just have to figure out who you really want there and clear out the old guys who you don't need to make room. Players often have a tendency to fill the role they are placed in (top 9s becoming top 6s and if they are at the top of the overall range, or top 4s becoming bottom 6s if they are still at a low level at a certain age.
Some of it is random. I recruited two elite goalies with a 48 overall in recent seasons. One made it into the NHL as an 80 something elite - the other imploded and became a fringe starter before they hit 70.
The higher the number of stars, the quicker the growth can be as well. A medium elite or franchise is going to jump leaps and bounds year after year, even unplayed, while a bottom 6 F or 7th D will take years to grow and may very well not grow at all year to year.
You should also look into getting coaches with good teaching stats - and I know that the type is important as well despite the fact that I'm clueless to how much influence it has. Forward coaches will tend to increase forwards more and defensive coaches improve defensive players more. I always get an A or A+ teaching goalie coach in both the AHL and NHL for that reason - send out offers to 3-5 AHL assistant coach level goalie coaches with high stats at a time for each - someone tends to accept.
I also get very demanding owners all the time and so I have a habit of simming the regular season and then the playoffs until I have 3 losses in a round and playing manually afterward. I win a ton of Stanley Cups to keep my job and not lose the team that I spent years cultivating. Players tend to get a 1-2 overall jump, if they aren't maxed, after you win the cup. It's really kinda crappy toward rebuilders because they don't jump when you really need them to.
I would suggest getting the core elites and franchises you want to build around out fo the way first - get some older guys in the high 70s and lower 80s to fill the third and fourth lines. Meanwhile, cultivate your three and a half to four star players in the minors - more than you need since some will fizzle out. As they max out, trade those old guys away for distant trade picks - take the stanley cup winner or a contender and trade them your 83 overall third liner F and D for a first round pick 5 years later. They don't value those picks now and they will likely have to rebuild around that time.
If you get too many elites - more than you can afford - don't give them a contract until you absolutely have to, two years later, and trade them between the draft between their second and third years signed or in the draft deadline of their last year. Get those distant picks or often, if you see a really good one going first through fifth overall, use them to trade because those teams looking for draft picks also like already developed young rookie elites.
If you have the salary cap on, you can also trade those elites for guys with less potential, but long contracts and force the other team to keep half the cost so you can afford a better team.
You may be not as good when you bring in your third and fourth liners, but simply trade away the old and place in the young guy who is a high 70s and they will grow into that role.
