The New Jersey Devils might have something great in Joey Anderson. It has been a good rise to the NHL and hopefully he sticks around and makes an impact.
As far as forwards go, the New Jersey Devils heavily rely on the two kids they drafted with the first-overall pick to carry the load of the future. The team is going to need some help throughout the lineup no matter how good they become. In order for the Devils to become a powerhouse team, Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier could use some steady play from Joey Anderson.
The former Minnesota Duluth standout came into this season with some high expectations for himself. He played the first part of the season with the Binghamton Devils and he was pretty good. He had 15 goals and 19 assists for 34 points in he minor leagues. When he was up with the New Jersey Devils, he managed to get four goals and two assists on top of that.
He looks like a guy who can be a pretty good offensively for the Devils at times but eat some hard minutes at even strength. Him playing well with or without the offense is something that the Devils really need. They have built a young core that they are still looking to add to and Anderson could be an important piece to it.
He proved this season that he is capable of playing at the NHL level on a full-time basis. What his role will remain to be seen but it is exciting to think about. He didn’t make the team out of camp but there really wasn’t a realistic spot for him. He went down to Binghamton and was good enough to be their representative in the All-Star game. It is likely that he will make the team out of camp as a winger that can do everything.
For his situation, Joey Anderson gets a B for sure. He doesn’t get an A because getting an A in a year that was spent split between two teams is very hard to do. He did the best he could for the situation that he was in and was above average at that role. A utility winger like Anderson needs to be able to play up and down a lineup and contribute some offense while playing some good defense as well.
He gets a grade as high as a B for the way he handled himself. After not making the team out of training camp, he went down to the AHL as a 21-year-old and was one of their best players. Once he did make it up to the show on a full-time basis, he was pretty good in his role. He will only continue to get better as time goes on.