In the fall of 2007, Lee transferred back to Edina High School. Although private-to-public school transfers were rare, the daily 20-mile round trip commute to St. Thomas and a desire to play with teammates he grew up with factored into his decision.[2] In his junior year, he made an immediate impact in both football and hockey. In the fall, he won the starting quarterback position and passed for 2,049 yards and 14 touchdowns for the Edina Hornets, who finished with a 10–1 record after losing to the eventual state champion Eden Prairie in the Section 6AAAAA championship game. This was the best finish for the Edina Hornet football team in the past decade. In the winter, he transitioned to hockey, where he finished third in scoring for his team with 54 points (32 goals and 22 assists). He was selected to the Pioneer Press All-State First Team.[3] and received an honorable mention to the AP All-State team.[4] He helped lead the hockey team to a 26–1 regular-season record and a second-place finish in the Class AA 2008 state hockey tournament. In the spring, he played varsity baseball as both a pitcher and third basemen.[4]
As a senior, Lee had a breakout year in football. As quarterback, he passed for 2,007 yards and five touchdowns and ran for 1,105 yards and 32 touchdowns, averaging 308.7 yards of offense per game. He was selected as the 2008 Minnesota Gatorade Football Player of the Year,[5] the Star Tribune All-Metro Player of the Year,[6] and was a finalist for Minnesota's "Mr. Football",[7] losing to now professional player Varmah Sonie. Lee holds the state record for most all-purpose yards in a game, gaining 581 yards (477 passing and 104 rushing) in 42–56 loss to Hopkins High School.[8] Despite the individual on-field success, the Hornets went 6–4 that year and did not make the playoffs.
Lee's success in football carried over to the ice, where he had another successful season for the Hornets ice hockey team. He finished as one of the top scorers in the league during his senior year, scoring 25 goals and 59 assists in 31 games. He led the Hornets to a 24–3 regular-season record and 2009 high school hockey tournament appearance. Despite being the first seed in the tournament bracket, the Hornets lost in the opening round to the eighth seed Moorhead High School. The Hornets would go on to win the consolation final, finishing fifth-place overall in the Class AA tournament. He was a 2009 finalist for the annual "Mr. Hockey" Award, losing to now-professional hockey player and former New York Islanders teammate Nick Leddy.[9] Playing in the pre-season Upper Midwest Elite League, Lee scored 12 goals with 17 assists in 18 games for Team Southwest. Many scouts regarded him as one of the best athletes in the state of Minnesota.[citation needed] While Lee was offered opportunities to play both football and hockey at Harvard and Minnesota, Lee ultimately committed play hockey at the University of Notre Dame.[10]
Playing career
Early career
In the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, Lee was selected in the sixth round, 151st overall, by the New York Islanders. Lee arguably could have gone higher in the draft, but many teams were concerned he would choose football over hockey. Many scouts were also concerned with his skating.[11] He spent the upcoming season playing for the Green Bay Gamblers in the United States Hockey League (USHL) and was their leading scorer. He scored 35 goals with 31 assists and had a team-best +38 plus-minus rating with 54 penalties-in-minutes in 59 games and was chosen for the 2010 All-Star Game. He was named Playoff MVP after scoring 10 goals with 12 assists and finishing +10 in 12 playoff contests. He was also named "Rookie of the Year" for the season. The following season, Lee was the second-leading scorer for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) as a freshman as the team were one of the turnaround stories in college hockey, finishing second in the CCHA after finishing ninth the previous season. He scored a team-leading 24 goals with 20 assists and his 44 points were topped only by fellow freshman T. J. Tynan, who had 54 points. After falling in the CCHA playoff semi-finals and consolation games, Notre Dame rebounded to capture the NCAA Northeast Region and advanced to the Frozen Four, losing to eventual national champion University of Minnesota Duluth in the semi-finals. In the 2011–12 season, Lee was the second-leading scorer for Notre Dame as a sophomore. He scored 17 goals with 17 assists and was minus-one with 24 penalty minutes. The Fighting Irish finished eighth in the league, reaching the tournament quarter-finals against the University of Michigan after defeating Ohio State University in an opening round series.
Professional
New York Islanders
Lee concluded his collegiate career on April 1, 2013, by signing a two-year, entry-level contract with the New York Islanders.[12] He immediately made his NHL debut the following day against the Winnipeg Jets. He scored his first career NHL goal on his first career shot in the first period of his debut to help lead the Islanders to a 5–2 win.[13] He appeared in one more game for the Islanders that season, where he tallied his first NHL assist on the game-winning goal in a 4–2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.[14] Although the Islanders were allowed to save Lee's first year of his contract for the 2013–14 season, they chose to burn the first year of his contract after he had played two games.[15]
Lee with the Islanders in April 2014
Lee participated in his first Islanders training camp ahead of the 2013–14 season but was reassigned to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, on September 30, 2013.[16] He immediately made an impact in the AHL, leading the team in scoring with 22 goals and 19 assists for 41 points through the first half of the season. As a result of his play, Lee was one of three Sound Tigers players recalled to the NHL level on February 24, 2014.[17] As he continued to show his offensive output at the NHL level, Lee began to earn recognition as a possible linemate for John Tavares and Kyle Okposo.[18]
After participating in the Islanders training camp ahead of the 2014–15 season, Lee was again reassigned to the Sound Tigers to begin the season. Head coach Jack Capuano said it was a tough decision to demote Lee because of his impressive showing at training camp but it was the result of a "numbers game."[19] While he began the season with the Sound Tigers, Lee was quickly called up to play with the Islanders on October 22. At the time, he had accumulated three goals and two assists in five games.[20] In his first game of the season, Lee scored the opening goal at 5:11 of the first period to lead the Islanders over the Dallas Stars.[21] As the season progressed, Lee became a mainstay in the Islanders lineup while playing alongside Ryan Strome and Brock Nelson.[22] While playing on the 'Kid Line,' called so given their respective ages, Lee also earned some responsibility on the team's top power play unit.[23] After Okposo was declared out for six to eight weeks in late January, Lee replaced him on the Islander's top line with Tavares and Josh Bailey.[22] By mid-February, Lee ranked second on the team with 19 goals and tied for second in goals scored among all league rookies.[24] He finished the month of February leading all rookies with 15 points through 15 games and six game-winning goals. As a result, Lee was recognized with the league's Rookie of the Month honor for the month of February.[25] Lee continued to improve as the regular season reached its end, finishing the 2014–15 season with 25 goals and 16 assists for 41 points through 76 games.[26] His efforts helped the Islanders clinch a playoff berth in the 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs, although he was limited to five games. After playing in the first five games of the Islanders first round series against the Washington Capitals, Lee served as a healthy scratch for Game 6 and Game 7.[27]
As a restricted free agent following the 2014–15 season, Lee signed a four-year contract extension to remain with the Islanders.[26] When the 2015–16 season began, Lee was expected to reunite with Tavares and Strome on the Islanders top line.[28] However, after Lee and Strome began the season off slowly, coach Jack Capuano chose to reassign Strome to the AHL and Lee to the second line with Frans Nielsen and Josh Bailey.[29][30] While Lee began the season with three goals and nine points through the first 19 games, he began to bounce back while playing on the second line.[29] The line remained together until the end of December when Lee returned to Tavares' wing in an effort to spark an increase in both of their offensive output. At the time, Lee had accumulated four goals and 15 points through 36 games, the majority of which was gathered while played on the second line.[31] He continued to steadily improve his scoring as the season progressed before suffering a broken fibula during a game against the New York Rangers on April 7. As this was a season-ending injury, Lee finished his sophomore season with 15 goals and 36 points through 80 games.[32] While Lee was injured, the Islanders qualified for the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 1993.[33]
After sitting out the entirety of the Islanders' playoff berth, Lee returned to the team's training camp in September healthy and eligible to play.[34] However, both Lee and the Islanders began the season slowly. Lee scored one goal through the first 18 games of the season while the Islanders managed a losing 7–10–4 record by the end of November.[35] In spite of the slow start, Lee experienced a career year while playing mostly on a line with team captain John Tavares and Josh Bailey. He scored a career-high 34 goals and 18 assists for 52 points through 82 games. Lee was presented the Bob Nystrom Award for 2016–17 as the Islander who best exemplifies leadership, hustle and dedication.[36]
During the 2017–18 season, Lee again played as left wing on the first line with Bailey and Tavares. Lee was the Islanders' leading scorer with 40 goals, tied for seventh-most in the NHL during the regular season. Lee additionally had 22 assists, making a total of 62 points for the season. On April 23, 2018, he was nominated for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy.[37]
At the beginning of the 2018–19 season, after the departure of John Tavares to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Lee was named the 15th captain of the Islanders.[38] On July 1, 2019, Lee signed a new seven-year, $49 million contract with the Islanders (effective from the 2019–20 season to the end of the 2025–26 season) worth an average annual value of $7 million.[39]
On March 17, 2021, the Islanders announced Lee would miss the remainder of the 2020–21 season to have surgery on a torn ACL sustained after a collision with New Jersey Devils forward Pavel Zacha six days earlier.[40]
Lee started partnering with Jam Kancer in the Kan after seeing a video of cancer patient Fenov Pierre-Louis at a Jam Kancer in the Kan event. Since then, Lee has hosted several events for the organization, raising over $300,000 for childhood cancer, and established the Fenov Pierre-Louis Memorial Scholarship after Pierre-Louis' passing in 2018, which he awards to five high school seniors.[42][43] Lee's cousin is a football player, Ryan Connelly went to Wisconsin. He also has a three nephews at Maple Grove named Braylon Lee, Ethan Mannel, and Gabe Adelman. Anders holds a degree in Management Consulting from Notre Dame.[44][43]
