Columbus Blue Jackets: Josh Anderson’s late breakout potential

With 2 goals in the first 3 games of the season, forward Josh Anderson may be primed for a bit of a late breakout, this season

Off to a 2-1-0 start to this season, the Columbus Blue Jackets clearly have potential. Despite being knocked out by eventual Stanley Cup Champions in the first round twice in a row, the Jackets are still legitimate contenders, boasting a corps of underrated talent.

While guys like Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky are getting their fair share of attention, others have gone under the radar. For example, forward Josh Anderson is worth a conversation.

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Anderson posted a career-high 30 points in 63 games last season. If he had played 82 games, he’d be on pace for 39 points. This significantly outdoes his previous 29 point career high. His season was shortened by 19 games due to a knee injury.

Jumping back and forth between the AHL and NHL during his first 2 seasons, Anderson first solidified a position with the Jackets during the 2016-17 season. However, he did record a rather troubling 89 penalty minutes.

Last season, along with significantly improving his point totals, he became a different player. If he had played the same amount, he would have been on pace for 52 instead of 89. He’s still far from a Lady Byng candidate, but he’s also pretty far from an enforcer.

In the NHL, the need for the enforcer is dying. Anderson obviously changed his game, and it did him good. Perhaps his increased point totals can be attributed to his time spent out of the box.

Beyond point total alone, Anderson is another one of those players whose other metrics must be taken into consideration. In fact, looking at his advanced metrics, it appears that he is set to become a decent point contributor.

A look at Anderson’s game

Last season, Josh Anderson made good contributions, all over the ice. Even on a Corsi-strong team like the Blue Jackets, he recorded a 53.5 CorsiFor percentage last season, along with a +3.3 relative CorsiFor percentage. This means he has an overall positive impact on possession.

Additionally, he’s a talented playmaker in the offensive zone. He helps to contribute around 73 shots per 60 minutes. Offensively, this would imply that the Blue Jackets are more productive when he’s on the ice.

He’s also above-average in terms of getting the puck into the offensive zone. Last season, his offensive zone entries resulted in Blue Jackets possession 58 percent of the time. An overlooked skill is dumping in the puck; knowing the right part of the boards to place the puck on dump-ins. Well, Anderson has that skill.

Lastly, and most interestingly, he has a with-possession defensive zone exit percentage of 76. This is probably where some of those impressive possession numbers come from.

A player with low point totals but a high Corsi is often an indicator of defensive ability. This essentially confirms that. Anderson is quite effective in terms of getting the puck out of the defensive zone.

With this sort success around the ice, a breakout season for Anderson seems probable.

Conclusion

While some underperforming players are easier to spot than others, this is one of the clearest I’ve seen in a while. These percentages are not the sign of just an average player. Anderson could easily see a significant point increase this season.

On the other end of the ice, his talent is translating into his CorsiFor percentage. Costing only $1.85 million per year, the Blue Jackets may have a hidden gem in Anderson.

Player tool: https://public.tableau.com/profile/christopher.turtoro#!/vizhome/2-yearA3ZPlayerComps/ComparisonDashboard