Anderson Patrick Bjork (born August 5, 1996) is an American professional ice hockey left winger who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League (AHL). Bjork was selected 146th overall by the Boston Bruins in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.
| Anders Bjork | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Bjork with Team USA in 2023 | |||
| Born |
August 5, 1996 Mequon, Wisconsin, U.S. | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb) | ||
| Position | Left wing | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| NHL team Former teams |
Free agent Boston Bruins Buffalo Sabres Chicago Blackhawks | ||
| National team |
 United States | ||
| NHL draft |
146th overall, 2014 Boston Bruins | ||
| Playing career | 2017–present | ||
Playing career
editCollegiate
editBjork played college hockey at Notre Dame in the Hockey East from 2014 to 2017. In 2016–17, Bjork was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, marking him as one of the ten best players in men's college hockey;[1] he was also named a Hockey East First-Team All-Star,[2] and was a co-winner of the Hockey East Three-Stars Award.[3]
Professional
editBoston Bruins
editAt the completion of his junior season with the Fighting Irish, Bjork concluded his collegiate career in signing a three-year, entry-level contract with the Boston Bruins on May 30, 2017.[4]
Bjork's NHL career started with the 2017–18 Bruins season opener, a 4–3 home ice victory over the Nashville Predators, when he scored an assist on fellow Bruins rookie Jake DeBrusk's first-ever NHL goal, for his first point as an NHL player.[5] Bjork's first NHL goal came in the fourth game of the season on the road against the Arizona Coyotes, as the final goal of a 6–2 road win for the Bruins.[6]
On January 30, 2018, during a home-ice game against the visiting Anaheim Ducks, Bjork suffered a season-ending left shoulder injury – he underwent a successful arthroscopy and labral repair three weeks later, and was expected to take six months to fully heal from the surgical repair.[7]
Buffalo Sabres
editIn the pandemic delayed 2020–21 season, Bjork collected 2 goals and 5 points through 30 regular season games before he was dealt by the Bruins on the eve of the trade deadline along with a 2021 second-round draft pick to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Taylor Hall and Curtis Lazar on April 11, 2021.[8]
Chicago Blackhawks
editIn the final year of his contract, on March 2, 2023, on the eve of that season's trade deadline, Bjork was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for future considerations.[9] At the time of the trade, Bjork had spent the entire season with Buffalo's AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans, save for one game with the Sabres on November 16, 2022.[10] Bjork was recalled from the minors by the Blackhawks and played out the remainder of the season with the team in posting 2 goals and 8 points through 13 appearances.
As a free agent from the Blackhawks, and unable to earn an NHL contract on the open market, Bjork opted to continue his tenure within the Blackhawks organization in signing a one-year AHL contract with affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs, on August 10, 2023.[11]
Personal life
editBefore Notre Dame, Bjork went to high school at Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor, when he moved there to play for the USA Hockey National Team Development Program.[12] Bjork's family includes several Notre Dame alumni. His parents, Kirt and Patricia, both of whom are of Swedish descent, his sisters Brinya and Keali, and cousin Erik Condra all attended the school. Kirt Bjork also played hockey for Notre Dame.[13][14] During college Anders was enrolled in the Mendoza College of Business. He has a younger brother, Brady, who has committed to play hockey at University of Notre Dame.[14]
Career statistics
edit| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Representing United States
| ||
| Ice hockey | ||
| World Junior Championships | ||
 |
2016 Finland | |
| IIHF World U18 Championship | ||
 |
2014 Finland | |
| World U-17 Hockey Challenge | ||
| |
2013 Quebec | |
Regular season and playoffs
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2012–13 | U.S. NTDP Juniors | USHL | 38 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | U.S. NTDP U17 | USDP | 56 | 12 | 12 | 24 | 48 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | U.S. NTDP Juniors | USHL | 26 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | U.S. NTDP U18 | USDP | 61 | 21 | 20 | 41 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | University of Notre Dame | HE | 41 | 7 | 15 | 22 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | University of Notre Dame | HE | 35 | 12 | 23 | 35 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | University of Notre Dame | HE | 39 | 21 | 31 | 52 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 30 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Providence Bruins | AHL | 9 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 20 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Providence Bruins | AHL | 13 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Providence Bruins | AHL | 7 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 58 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 2020–21 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 30 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 15 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 58 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 42 | 8 | 17 | 25 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 13 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2023–24 | Rockford IceHogs | AHL | 40 | 10 | 17 | 27 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 225 | 26 | 35 | 61 | 44 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||||
International
edit| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | United States | U17 | 
|
6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |
| 2014 | United States | U18 | 
|
7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | |
| 2016 | United States | WJC |
|
7 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2017 | United States | WC | 5th | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2023 | United States | WC | 4th | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
| Junior totals | 20 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 12 | ||||
| Senior totals | 15 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||||
Awards and honors
edit| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| College | ||
| HE Second All-Star Team | 2016 | |
| HE First All-Star Team | 2017 | |
| AHCA East Second-Team All-American | 2017 | [15] |
| Hobey Baker Award (finalist) | 2017 | |
References
edit- ^ "NCAA hockey: Hobey Baker Memorial Award announces top 10 finalists". March 15, 2017.
- ^ "Hockey East Honors 2016–17 All-Star Teams". March 16, 2017.
- ^ "Hockey East announces award winners". Hockey East. March 15, 2017. Retrieved March 16, 2017.
- ^ "Bruins sign forward Anders Bjork to entry-level contract". Boston Bruins. May 30, 2017. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
- ^ Kalman, Matt (October 5, 2017). "Bruins defeat Predators in season opener". nhl.com. National Hockey League. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
- ^ Russo, Eric (October 15, 2017). "Bjork Tallies First NHL Goal in Arizona". nhl.com/bruins. Boston Bruins. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
- ^ Ryan, Conor (February 22, 2018). "Anders Bjork injury: Boston Bruins rookie forward to miss rest of the season due to shoulder surgery". masslive.com. MassLive. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
The Boston Bruins released an update on the 21-year-old forward Thursday, announcing that the rookie underwent a successful left shoulder arthroscopy and labral repair on February 20 at Massachusetts General Hospital. As a result of the procedure, Bjork is expected to be out for six months...Bjork suffered the injury during a loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Jan. 30, exiting the game after just 2:43 of time on ice after taking a crosscheck from Francois Beauchemin.
- ^ "Sabres acquire Bjork, 2nd-round draft pick from Bruins for Hall, Lazar". Buffalo Sabres. April 11, 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
- ^ "RELEASE: Blackhawks Acquire Anders Bjork from Buffalo". NHL.com. March 2, 2023. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
- ^ "Blackhawks acquire Bjork from Sabres". TSN. Bell Canada Enterprises Inc. March 2, 2023. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
- ^ "IceHogs sign Bjork to AHL contract". American Hockey League. August 10, 2023. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
- ^ "Anders Bjork". teamusa.usahockey.com. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
- ^ John Heisler (April 7, 2017). "The Bjorks: Hockey Is the Family Business". und.com. Archived from the original on July 7, 2018. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
- ^ a b Russo, Eric (July 31, 2018). "Impact is Lasting for Bjork, Notre Dame". NHL.com. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
- ^ "2016–2017 All-American Team". The American Hockey Coaches Association. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database