Erik Anderson is an American former ice hockey

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who was an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

for St. Lawrence.

Career

Anderson saw a great deal of success in his junior hockey career. His first year with the

Stratford Cullitons The Stratford Warriors are a junior hockey, junior ice hockey team based in Stratford, Ontario, Stratford, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Mid-Western division of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. The team was originally named the Warrio ...

saw him win both the league championship as well as the

Sutherland Cup The Sutherland Cup is the ice hockey Ontario Junior "B" Provincial Championship trophy. The trophy was first awarded in 1934, and named in honour of former OHA and CAHA president, James T. Sutherland. The Sutherland Cup is now the championshi ...

. The team repeated as MWJHL champions in 1996 and, while they were stopped just shy of a three-peat, Anderson personally had a superb final season. In 1997 he led the league in all three statistical categories, averaging more than 3 points per game for the year. He took his considerable scoring prowess to St. Lawrence but his freshman year was anything but spectacular. The decline was only temporary, however, and he more than doubled his point production as a sophomore, helping turn the Larries into one of the top teams in

ECAC Hockey ECAC Hockey is one of the six conferences that compete in NCAA Division I college ice hockey, ice hockey. The conference used to be affiliated with the Eastern College Athletic Conference, a consortium of over 300 colleges in the eastern United ...

and getting them into the NCAA Tournament for the first time in seven years. Entering his junior season, Anderson was named an

alternate captain In ice hockey, the captain is the player designated by a team as the only person authorized to speak with the game officials regarding rule interpretations when the captain is on the ice. At most levels of play each team must designate one captai ...

and continued his scoring pace. This time, the team captured both conference championships and reached the Frozen Four for the first time in twelve years (the program's last appearance as of 2021). He was named team captain as a senior and, while the team declined a bit, Anderson had his best season yet, being named an All-American and ECAC Player of the Year. After graduating, Anderson began playing professionally and started with the

Milwaukee Admirals The Milwaukee Admirals are a professional ice hockey team based in Milwaukee. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Nashville Predators. They play their homes games at the UW–Milwaukee Panther ...

. He had some difficulty in adjusting to the AHL, averaging just over 1 point every 5 games, and found himself demoted to the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

before season's end. His second year began with him as a member of the

Toledo Storm The Toledo Storm were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the ECHL from 1991 to 2007. The Storm played their home games at the venerable Toledo Sports Arena along the eastern banks of the Maumee River in Toledo, Ohio. The team colors w ...

but he got off to a tremendous start. After six games, he had scored 10 points, was the team's leading scorer, and was recalled to the

. While his scoring improved in year two, it still wasn't enough for the Admirals to keep him on the roster and he was eventually returned to Toledo. Rather than continue in the minors, Anderson headed to

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and joined the

Sheffield Steelers The Sheffield Steelers are a professional ice hockey team located in Sheffield, England. They were formed in 1991 and play their home games at the Utilita Arena. They are currently a member of the Elite Ice Hockey League. The club's main (tit ...

. He finished second on the club in scoring and helped them win the inaugural

EIHL The Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), sometimes referred to internationally as the British Elite League, is an ice hockey league in the United Kingdom. Formed in 2003 following the demise of the Ice Hockey Superleague, it is the highest level ...

championship, being named a second-team all-star for the year. After reaching the semifinals the next year, Anderson left the team and split the following year with two clubs in central

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before returning across the pond and ending his playing career with the

Elmira Jackals The Elmira Jackals were a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Elmira, New York. They were members of the United Hockey League from 2000 to 2007 and the ECHL from 2007 to 2017. The Jackals played their home games at First Arena. ...

. Anderson was inducted into the St. Lawrence Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019.

Statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Erik 1978 births Living people AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans American men's ice hockey centers Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL) players Elmira Jackals (UHL) players EHC Freiburg players Herlev Hornets players Milwaukee Admirals players People from Plymouth, Michigan Ice hockey people from Wayne County, Michigan Sheffield Steelers players St. Lawrence Saints men's ice hockey players Toledo Storm players