By: Andrew Bluestein | Follow Me On Twitter / X @adbblue
Trent Frederic had his career-best season last year, recording a line of 17-14-31 and was +28. He has kept the ball rolling into the 2023-24 season, building on his previous campaign. The Boston Bruins 2016 first-round pick has slowly developed his game since debuting during the 2018-19 season.
The former University of Wisconsin Badger is red hot, recording five points in his last five games, including two goals against the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday. He started the season playing on the right wing but has since been moved to his natural position at center. Frederic has undoubtedly been one of the most important players for Boston this season.
At 6’3 and 214 lbs, Frederic is an immense presence on the ice and arguably the Bruins’ most physical player. In his last two seasons, he has recorded over 100 hits, and he has 64 this season, which leads the team. His style of play fits perfectly with dawning the spoked B.
Former Bruins forward John Wensink credited Frederic for being the guy who would have fit in the best with the teams back in the Lunch Pail era. He is not afraid to drop the gloves and knows how to scrap, as he leads the team in fighting majors this season with three. He is always one of the first guys to stick up for his teammates.
Frederic’s versatility is a big reason why he’s been so important to the team this season. He has shown he has the ability to be productive playing the wing and at center. That gives head coach Jim Montgomery plenty of options in putting together his lineup. Frederic has appeared in all 35 games this season for Boston, having a line of 9-9-18 and is a +7.
He is only 13 points shy of his career-high total from last season. The Bruins agitator has developed a strong chemistry with Charlie Coyle in the last few seasons. Although they are not on the same line currently, Frederic has also found strong chemistry with free agent acquisition James van Riemsdyk. Both players play a similar style to Frederic, which is evidence of him having the ability to mesh well with players on par with him.
Frederic has also seen his defensive game grow and has been one of the better forwards in the defensive zone for Boston this season. He has a long reach, which he uses to his advantage and helps with his positioning. Furthermore, He has blocked 22 shots this season, which is third on the team among forwards, and is only 14 away from his total from last season of 36.
The Power forward is only averaging 13:14 of time on ice per game, which is tenth on the team among forwards, but he takes advantage of the shifts he gets. Whether it’s a big hit or generating a forecheck cycle, it’s not very often he isn’t noticeable while on the ice. He also does not play on either power-play unit and very seldomly kills penalties, averaging just 26 seconds of shorthanded time on ice per game.
After avoiding arbitration this past off-season, Frederic signed a two-year $4.6 million contract with Boston. If he keeps improving, when his current contract expires in 2025, he is on his way to playing himself toward earning a relatively high payday. Boston will have a lot of cap space this coming off-season, so a contract extension could be on the table for the hard-nosed forward.
Leave a Reply