I'm going to be honest, 0-1-1 in 17GP is kinda shitty for a first round pick defenseman in ANY league, whether they are defense or offense first.
No matter whether you slide towards being better defensively or offensively in the minor leagues, it trends better for your NHL career if you A) have more points and B) shoot a lot.
That's it. That's the secret to drafting well. Shooters and point-getters, mostly the former. Even defense-first defensemen do better than what EJ is doing.
I don't think there is a valid argument/context to describe anything other than "disappointing" for him so far, even with him being a freshman. He's performing at the level of a freshman 3rd round pick or lower. If he's built in the same vein as K'Andre, with size/reach/etc for the college level, then I ain't buying what Drury was selling.