frederic

Above Photo Credit:  Wisconsin Athletics

By Mark Allred   Follow Me On Twitter @BlackAndGold277

When the Boston Bruins selected forward Trent Frederic in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft from Buffalo, New York, It wasn’t the most popular pick for B’s fans and some popular hockey personalities alike. It would seem that Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney and scouting staff weren’t drafting the best available players in the past two seasons, but addressing positional needs for opportunities that might come sooner than expected.

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Frederic, who start the 2016-17 season as a freshman at the University of Wisconsin is playing well in his first year of NCAA Division 1 hockey in the Big Ten Conference. The 19-year-old St. Louis, Missouri native has appeared in 19 games this season and has contributed 10-15-25 numbers which are second on the Badgers team three points behind leading Luke Kunin who has 28.

The 6′-2″ 201-pound center is learning all aspects of the collegiate game but has been impressive in the special team’s department ranking him second on the team with five power play goals and second with one shorthanded goal. A very well positioned center is gaining valuable experience every game and getting high praise from many scouts and hockey writers covering the NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey ranks. Frederic is currently on a three-game point streak where he’s posted 3-4-7 numbers and has produced 13 points in his last ten games (5-8-13).

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Badgers Head Coach and former National Hockey League forward Tony Granato had this to say about the skill forward and his progression in his first year of college hockey.

Granato said “For a 19-year-old kid, he’s just a remarkable hockey player,” Granato said. “He’s a competitor. He wants to get better — he’s hungry to get better. He’s a sponge for absorbing information on what he needs to do.”

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This is all good news for a developing player as he rises through the developmental leagues to the NHL and is projected to be a third-line center in the future. The depth at that particular position is seemingly stacked but if the young Frederic plays a full NCAA career at Wisconsin and doesn’t leave school early, he could be very well on track to be a bottom six or even top six forward to a Bruins team looking to rely heavily on youth in the next couple seasons.

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The number six ranked Badgers have nine games remaining in the regular season starting tonight when they play host against the surprisingly good Penn State Nittany Lions. Puck drops at 7:07 this evening from the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin. Last night the Badgers lost to Penn State by the score of 6-3 in front of the home crowd and look to change the outcome of tonight’s event.