NEWARK, N.J. — Joey Anderson has always taken the approach that hockey is a game and games are meant to be played for fun. He’s lucky enough to do this for his career and he’s worked hard to get to this point, playing with the U.S. National Team Development Program and at Minnesota-Duluth.

But there was a period of time as recently as last season when the 21-year-old wasn’t having very much fun on the ice. Despite the fact that he was in the National Hockey League, he wasn’t satisfied with how he was playing and he couldn’t shake the feeling that came along with that.

His confidence had taken a hit even before he signed his entry-level contract with the New Jersey Devils in April of 2018.

“When I came out of college it wasn’t great,” Anderson said Monday after the Devils practised at RWJBarnabas Health Hockey House. “I wasn’t really happy with where my game was coming out of my sophomore year. I haven’t really talked about that much.”

Anderson is back in the NHL feeling reinvigorated. With 15 goals and 19 assists (34 points) in 44 games for Binghamton of the American Hockey League, he was rewarded for his efforts with a trip to Ontario, Calif., for the AHL all-star game and now a Monday call-up.

“I think I’ve got my swagger back,” Anderson said. “And not to say I didn’t have it before, but my confidence with the puck is higher than it’s ever been before. I’m confident making plays, defensively I want to be out there and I want to be out there in all situations.”

These changes didn’t come overnight. It was tough to develop his confidence in what turned out to be a tumultuous rookie season. Anderson didn’t make the team out of training camp last year and when he was promoted to the NHL he played limited minutes on a losing team.

Then, just 11 games into his NHL career, he went careening into the net and suffered the first major injury of his career. After returning from ankle surgery he bounced back and forth between Binghamton and New Jersey, unable to find his footing and unsure of his status on the team.

Anderson didn’t do anything exceptionally well in his first season but he didn’t show many weaknesses either. He just needed some refinement.

“He was a good college player and a player that could finish,” interim coach Alain Nasreddine said. “That doesn’t go away. Sometimes it’s just an adjustment, it’s gaining experience at the highest level. The game is a little faster here, the players are a little smarter defensively.”

Anderson watched as the Devils made several off-season acquisitions, knowing he may end up back in Binghamton. He came into training camp eager to grab one of those bottom-six forward spots but again, he started the season in Binghamton.

It wasn’t ideal, but it turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to him.

“To be honest, it was a demotion,” Anderson said. “I wasn’t happy about it. It stunk. But we have a great group of guys down there, so we got down there and guys had a good attitude about things. We were approaching it the right way.”

The B-Devils are 7-3-0 in their last 10 and have effectively turned their season around after a dismal start. Anderson has been a part of that, playing in all situations and getting big minutes in key late-game situations. Staying in one place allowed Anderson to settle into his role and his surroundings.

Offence is the next step for Anderson in the NHL, but it’s less about the numbers on the scoresheet and more about the overall impact on the ice.

“All we want to see from those guys when they come up is, are they creating chances? Are they defensively responsible?” Nasreddine said. “We’ve talked about our defensive game lately, so everyone that’s going to come in to play has to be better. Joey, what we really like, he’s a reliable player, he’s a smart hockey player on both sides of the puck. So I’m excited to see what he’s going to bring.”

Whether or not he stays in New Jersey will likely depend on what the B-Devils do the rest of the year. If they make the Calder Cup playoffs then it would benefit Anderson, as well as other top prospects like Jesper Boqvist, Brett Seney, Michael McLeod and Nathan Bastian to stay in the minor leagues and play.

But for now, Anderson will get a chance to show how his season in the AHL helped bring back the joy of hockey.

“I’m so happy playing hockey again,” he said. “It’s so much fun going to the rink, seeing the guys, hanging out, doing things away from the rink. It’s a new, refreshed look at everything and it’s helped my game on the ice.”