By: Danielle DuBois | Follow Me on Twitter @DanielleDuBois
Boston Bruins forward Trent Frederic is one of the younger players on the team. The B’s drafted Frederic in the first round of the 2016 draft held at the First Niagara Center in downtown Buffalo, New York. In the 2017-2018 season, Frederic played 13 games with the Providence Bruins after his season commitment was over with the University of Wisconsin Badgers. In that timeframe, he scored five goals and three assists. Frederic left college after his sophomore year, signing an entry-level deal with Boston in March of 2018.
In the 2018-2019 season, the Bruins brought him up to play in the NHL for a few games. Unfortunately, he couldn’t carry those skills up to the NHL, as he played 15 games scoring no goals or assists. After the slow start in the NHL, Frederic was sent back down to Providence to continue growing.
The Bruins were unimpressed with Frederic; however, they were forced to play him in the 2020-2021 season. With the rise of COVID-19, the Bruins pulled Frederic up to have more depth on the team. Frederic played 42 games, scoring four goals and one assist. It wasn’t the best start by any means. Not to mention that he had 65 penalty minutes and had a plus/minus of -8. Sadly the following season wasn’t much better for Frederic, as he scored eight goals and had 57 penalty minutes.
While his start was slow, he still showed a lot of potential. Watching him play, you can tell he wanted to be there and was full of speed and power. He needed to harness that energy into his puck skills instead of fighting.
This season we have seen a whole new side of Frederic. He has played 53 games and has scored 13 goals and nine assists. Frederic has 66 hits this season, and five of his 13 goals have been game-winners. While there’s still a quarter of the season to go, Frederic has already broken his record for points in a season.
Jim Montgomery has switched Frederic between the third and fourth lines throughout the season. Recently Frederic has played on the fourth line with Nick Foligno and A.J. Greer. In his last five games, Frederic has scored three goals. Wherever Montgomery places Frederic, he seems to fit in with the other players.
In my opinion, there are two tests to judge a hockey player. There’s the statistics test, and there’s the eye test. Statistics-wise, Frederic has been doing great, and it is clear that this has been his best season in the NHL. The eye test is not based on stats but based on what the viewers see. From my viewpoint, Frederic has been insanely good this season. He has been faster than ever, beats players to the puck, and isn’t afraid to use his body.
Frederic has never shied away from a fight. In his first two seasons on the Bruins, he would fight way more than he would score. This season, he has been able to harness his talents into his play while keeping that aggressive energy. Frederic has 38 penalty minutes this season, 20 of which are because of fighting.
Watching Frederic develop and grow this season is promising for the Bruins’ future. The Bruins know that Frederic is able to produce quality talent and has an enormous amount of energy to help carry the team. While Frederic is still young and sits on the third line, I wouldn’t be surprised if he moves up to the second line next season.
I disagree with the premesis of this article. Frederick needs to be a physical force and he has been anything but this year. His lack of physicality was the main reason they had to go out and get Garnet Hatheway. When a grinder thinks hes a scorer they quickly become a spectator.
They did need added toughness but that’s hardly Frederic’s fault. May not be fighting as much but he’s still aggressive and willing to drop the gloves with anyone. A kid that young probably CAN’T focus on BOTH fighting plus skills. He’s gotta focus on being a better scoring option and it seems like he’s done a pretty damn good job of it. The only reason he fought so much was bc the rest of his game wasn’t there – it was literally the only way to make his presence felt and make an impact on the game