The Devils might be in the middle of a playoff battle with the Tampa Bay Lightning, but that does not mean that the business of hockey ends. The team and General Manager Ray Shero today announced that they have signed forward Joey Anderson of the University of Minnesota-Duluth to an entry level contract.
Anderson, 19, was the Devils’ third pick (73rd overall) in the 2016 Draft according to the press release the team put out. His contract will kick in “with the 2017-18 season” and he will skate with the team tomorrow as the press release notes that he was in New Jersey to sign the contract.
The 5-foot, 11-inch, 190-pound forward “just finished his sophomore season” with the Bulldogs, scoring 11 goals and 16 assists (27 points) with 20 penalty minutes according to the release. The Bulldogs won the NCAA Championship this year. They also reached the NCAA final last season (Anderson’s freshman year), but lost to Will Butcher and the University of Denver. Anderson was named to the NCHC All-Rookie Team his freshman year.
That season, he registered 12 goals and 25 assists for 37 points, tied for second in scoring on the team in 39 games. He also registered eight PIMs.
The right-handed shooting forward and native of Roseville, Minnesota also played for Team USA in the last two World Junior Championships. He won gold in 2017 with the team where he had two assists in seven games. In 2018, he was named team captain and had four goals and three assists for seven points in seven games in a bronze medal effort.
Before the University of Minnesota-Duluth, Anderson played for the United States National Team Development Program. Prior to that, the press release states, he played two years with his high school team at Hill-Murray High School.
The press release also notes that Joey’s younger brother, Michael, who was his teammate this year at the University of Minnesota-Duluth and with Team USA at the World Junior Championship, is a draft pick of the Los Angeles Kings (taken 103rd overall in 2017).