Devils rookie Joey Anderson learned to win big at Minnesota-Duluth

New Jersey Devils rookie Joey Anderson has two goals and an assist in 28 NHL contests. (Getty Images)

Fifteen seconds.

That’s how long the quiet lasted before New Jersey Devils rookie right wing Joey Anderson found the words to describe the feeling of winning championships – the NCHC championship as a freshman in 2016-17 and NCAA national title as a sophomore in 2017-18 — at the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

Fittingly, the first sentence of the 20-year-old’s response echoed the sentiment of the silence.

“It’s hard to put into words,” Anderson finally replied. “I’ve been fortunate enough to be on teams that have won championships, and it’s a feeling you don’t forget. It’s hard to talk about how I felt. It’s a feeling I can’t replicate and is something I can remember only in my head.”

The Roseville, Minn., native continued, “And we won the national championship in St. Paul (at Xcel Energy Center). It was absolutely incredible to have family, friends and support all around us and be able to go through it with people we love. It was special.

“I strive to win another championship.”

Ideally, Anderson, who was selected by New Jersey 73^rd overall in the 2016 National Hockey League draft, will accomplish that feat in The Show. And in order to help his team do that, he will utilize the myriad lessons he learned during his two years as a Bulldog and this season, his first one as a professional.

The quest starts with not taking every aspect of hockey and life so seriously.

“There’s a time and place for everything, and you have to know what to keep with you,” explained Anderson, who recorded 64 points (23-41—64) in 75 collegiate games. “There’s a lot of things I can’t control. In college especially, there’s a lot of things I let myself get worked up over. Now as a pro, I’ve learned the difference between what I should be holding onto and what I should be thinking about, and things I should let go of and move on from, so I can focus on the next thing that I’m going to do.”

The way he views hockey has also matured since he was a freshman.

“I approach it more from a professional aspect, as a job, as opposed to just getting to show up and play hockey,” said Anderson, who has two goals and an assist in 28 NHL contests this season. “I still love it. I’m a kid and it’s a kids’ game. But there’s a lot more prep work going into it now than there was when I first started in college, and I pick things up along the way – that day-to-day life, taking care of myself and how to be a professional around the rink and on the ice.”

When the 5-11, 190-pounder is on the ice, his assets are his tenacity and his high intellect.

“It’s easy when you play at a place like Duluth where they preach that hard-nosed game,” Anderson said. “They aren’t saying, ‘Don’t be skilled,’ but if you don’t have the puck, you have to go get it, and when you have that puck, you have to hold that thing and make sure no one is getting it from you. That’s something I’ve focused on and I’ve made that a big part of my game. I make sure I’m hard on plays I make, and I make sure they are the right plays and that I’m executing them at a high level.”

The right-handed shooting forward considers his “strength over the puck” to be the skill that he improved the most as a Bulldog.

“When I first went into college, I was a strong player and was heavy on the puck, but the difference from when I went in and when I left — with my confidence over it, in the corners and making wall plays in the D zone — is night and day,” he asserted. “It had a lot to do with my confidence, growing up and building adult strength as opposed to being that little teenage kid.”

Anderson gained some of that confidence by attending Devils development camps, which he did in the summers prior to both of his college campaigns and also last offseason.

“Every year I feel like the Devils thought more and more of me,” he said. “I knew I was playing to get to the NHL, and the development camps fueled me going into my seasons at Duluth. I knew what I wanted, and that was to play in New Jersey. [Devils assistant general manager Tom Fitzgerald, general manager Ray Shero and head coach John Hynes] were good about looking at things that I needed to work on in college to make myself a good pro. Development camp is a great spot where they can give you some little tips in a short period of time that you can take with you.”

Those pointers came in handy when Anderson had to work through the couple of different spells when he wasn’t scoring, which he called his toughest college hockey challenge.

“Scoring is not a giant part of my game and what makes me a good player,” he explained. “But when I was in college, I was looked on to score goals and put points up. When I wasn’t doing that, it wore on me. That’s one of those things I’ve learned not to let come home with me. I can get away from the game, and that ends up helping me get out of it. But it’s tough when you’re on a top team in the country and you’re supposed to be scoring and you’re not. I had to learn how to deal with that, and it’s about finding ways to contribute even when you’re not scoring. That’s something I’ve done a good job of finding. ‘All right, I’m not scoring, but how can I help my teammates and help my team win?’ That’s a big thing I’ve taken away from college.”

One of the people who aided him through those dry patches was his trainer since his youth hockey days, former NHL center Erik Rasmussen, who spent his final three big-league seasons with New Jersey.

“He’s talked me through things and helps me know what I can control and what I can’t control,” Anderson said. “It’s good to talk to somebody like that. I also talk to my dad (Gerry) all the time. He’s really good about that. It’s about finding a way to help your team win every night, and talking through things like that allows me to find things that make me successful in my game.”

Anderson finally felt ready to turn professional after his sophomore season. He was confident in his game and, more importantly, wanted to start treating hockey as a job.

It wasn’t a decision he took lightly, as he kept an open mind about possibly returning for his junior campaign.

“I was on the fence during the year,” revealed Anderson, who’s still taking college courses and pursuing his degree. “My mind was never made up at any point during the season, even though some people might have said that or thought that. I was never close to saying I was going pro. Then the season ended. We won. And then the Devils approached me. I didn’t have any conversations with the Devils before the season had ended. After it ended, they said, ‘We want you,’ and they laid out a plan. It was a good one. And I thought it was the right time for me to take my game to the next step and progress.”

With the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, Anderson initially couldn’t think of anything he would change from his college days. After all, he left the school with a pair of championships. But upon further reflection, he wishes there were more conversations with Duluth about his development and what they thought of him.

“My freshman year I talked with the staff a lot and had a great relationship with the coaches,” Anderson said. “My second year we didn’t talk a lot. It’s not just on them; it’s on me, too. I wasn’t out looking for conversations. But I wish we would’ve kept our conversations more open about going forward — what are we doing here, what are you going to help me with and what are we going to be looking to do. I wish there was more communication between the staff and me as a player and more one-on-one development.”

That desire remains with Anderson in New Jersey and inspires him to maintain an open dialogue with the Devils’ staff regarding how he can fine-tune his craft and what they expect from him.

And with his work ethic, cerebral mind, thirst for knowledge and hunger for more glory, improving and succeeding is not only what Anderson expects from himself, but also what he will continue to do with New Jersey.