(Above Photo Credit: uwbadgers .com)

By Mark Allred   Follow Me On Twitter  @BlackAndGold277

The University of Wisconsin’s Men’s regular season may be over with two losses over the weekend at the hands of Ohio State University, but their mission for a National Title still remains. The Badgers start the Big-Ten Tournament on Friday at 3:30 central time against the winner of recently played Ohio State or Michigan State who they’ve beat four times this season. Two Boston Bruins prospects that will be heading to Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena are freshman forward Trent Frederic and forward Cameron Hughes.

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Trent Frederic

When healthy the 2016 first round selection of the B’s had an outstanding rookie season of collegiate hockey. In 28 games this season he contributed with 15-18-33 numbers and set the tone for further development. Frederic had a nice point streak during the 2016-17 season when he went on a season-high eight game point streak where he contributed 8-6-13 numbers. The 6′-2″ 205-pound center from St. Louis, Missouri wasn’t the popular selection by Bruins fans nor popular hockey personalities, but after this season many have changed their opinions after this season’s effort. The rumor from the 2016 NHL Draft from Buffalo, New York was the Anaheim Ducks were going to select Frederic with their 30th pick they acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins via the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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Trent is a good north to south two-way player that has outstanding speed and puck possession skills. He’s a productive special teams player with a great shot and skating ability but also has to take advantage of his NCAA career to add body size if he’s going to challenge fro an NHL roster spot after graduation if he, in fact, stays in school. With the Bruins depth down the middle to keep him competitive in the NCAA would most likely be beneficial to both sides as he continues to hone his skills. As a fan myself I worry about the Bruins organization aggressively seeking help from the college ranks and asking a player to leave school like what had happened to Danton Heinen when he played at Denver University. I still believe Heinen left too early by watching every AHL Providence Bruins game this season.

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Cameron Hughes

The 2015 sixth round selection of the Bruins finished the 2016-17 regular season with career highs in goals, assists, and total points in his Junior year. A 6′-0″ 170-pound Edmonton, Alberta native ended the year with 7-24-31 numbers and has shown offensive progression after struggling in his freshman year to contribute 13 points in 34 games. One reason for his lack of points as a rookie was his shot, but after many training sessions during the offseason, he came back to his sophomore year posting 5-20-25 numbers. Every year we see good things in his continued development at the NCAA level.

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Now a 20-year-old soon to be a senior at Wisconsin University we are sure to see the same progression offensively as he’ll most likely finish his last season with the Badgers before turning pro and transition into a depth role in the Bruins minor-pro system. Cameron is a left shooting center that’s known to be a good “set-up” player with his smooth skating abilities while possessing a very high hockey IQ. He plays a strong two-way game, but as his development continues, he’s going to need more physical maturity. With increased body mass, mainly focused on upper-body strength, his shot could be a lethal one to start a potential AHL career after next season. His all-around game should be on the radar of the Bruins in a bottom six role as the organization continues to build the foundation of a franchise looking for future playoff seasons as it was not so many years ago.

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