Anderson bucking the ‘sophomore slump’ trend with Binghamton

BINGHAMTON, NY -- As the last-place team in the North Division and tied for fewest points in the entire AHL through 29 games, the Binghamton Devils (9-16-4) are struggling.

The same cannot be said for forward Joey Anderson.

The 73rd overall pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft is piling up points for the lowly Devils. Entering the weekend's slate of games, Anderson was riding a three-game point streak, had points in seven of his last 10 games, and over the previous 16 games, there have only been four games where the right-winger didn’t record at least one point.

“He’s gotten chances all year long and he’s a very thorough player,” Binghamton coach Mark Dennehy said after the Devils’ 2-1 win over the Rochester Americans Wednesday, Dec 18. “He’s one of those guys that gets chances and doesn’t give them up.”

Anderson redirected a point-shot from linemate Ben Street to kickstart Binghamton’s comeback win Wednesday. The tying tally came 1:01 after the Americans went up 1-0 in the second period.

Brett Seney, the third member of the Devils’ top line, zipped a one-timer through Rochester goalie Andrew Hammond 52 seconds after Anderson’s equalizer to make it 2-1 Binghamton.

Along with the goal, Anderson finished with a team-high six shots on goal and a plus-minus of +1.

“Honestly, I think pucks have been going in the net for our line,” Anderson said. “I don’t think we’ve been playing much different than we have. Points come and go but they’ve just been finding their way into the back of the net.

“If you look at our last four-five games, we easily could have more than we have had but we’re starting to click right now which is fortunate,” Anderson continued.

Seney’s 12th strike of the season put him into the team lead in goals while Street added two assists, pushing his point total to 31, which is third-most in the AHL.

“We all play the same way and we do things the right way,” Anderson said. “It’s hard work and it’s easy to read off each other. We’re responsible all over the ice which makes it easy to play with each other.”

Unlike Street and Seney, Anderson is in the midst of his second year in pro hockey. The former national champion with Minnesota-Duluth played 18 games in Binghamton as a rookie before a 34-game stint with New Jersey.

An ankle injury sidelined Anderson for about three months in the middle of his call-up following a collision with the net in November of 2018.

Now that the Roseville, MN native is healthy, his skills and more importantly, his confidence, are shining bright for Binghamton.

“Just my confidence with the puck,” Anderson said when asked about the changes in his game from last year to this year. “Holding onto it, making plays, feel strong with it, not necessarily things I didn’t have last year but now I definitely have the confidence to go out there and try and make a little more fancy plays, a little more passes here and there that maybe last year I would’ve just chipped pucks, things like that.”

Known more for his tenacity and grit, Anderson is starting to find his offensive game as the 5-foot-11, 203-pounder is having the best season of his young career right now.

Anderson has 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists) in 29 games for the Devils this season. Last year, Anderson compiled six points in Binghamton and seven points in New Jersey.

“I think it’s good for him to be here and I know that’s how he’s approaching it, to get his scoring touch back and to do exactly what he’s doing, to put some points up,” Dennehy said.

“The great part about Joey is he’s not one of those players that trades chances,” Dennehy added “He’s very stingy giving you them but he puts himself in the right position to get some.”