Next up on my list is forward Trent Frederic! Frederic played in the first 15 games of his NHL career for the Bruins last season, but he failed to record a single point in any of them. He also played in 55 games for the Bruins’ AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins, in which he produced 14 goals and 11 assists. He then played in four playoff games for the P-Bruins, through which he tallied zero goals and two assists. Drafted 29th overall of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft by the Bruins, Frederic has appeared in 68 career AHL games, over which he has produced 19 goals and 14 assists. The 21-year-old center has only played for the Bruins organization over his professional career, which has spanned slightly over a year as he turned pro following his sophomore season at the University of Wisconsin in 2017-18.
Frederic was one of several prospects who was given a chance to be the third-line center before the team traded for Charlie Coyle at the deadline. Like all the others, he stuck around for a little while but ultimately got sent back down to Providence. He’s a defensively-responsible center with some offensive upside, but his ceiling is likely a middle-six center in the NHL. He’s got good size, and can play a physical game with a little bit of nasty, as evidenced by him getting into a fight in his first NHL game. He’s good at the faceoff dot and shoots more than you’d think given he doesn’t score a lot. In his short time in Boston this season, he showed he was capable of contributing across multiple categories even though he didn’t record a single point and he had very limited ice time with varying linemates. His skating will need to improve before he sees the NHL full-time, as he often looked slow out on the ice in his time with the big club. But, he competes hard and isn’t afraid to go to the dirty areas, and he looks to be at least a good role player in the NHL someday.
As for what we can expect out of Frederic last season, he appears to need more time before he will be ready for the NHL full-time. So, I think he’ll spend most of the season in Providence, but he’ll likely be called up due to injuries to the Bruins bottom-six at some point during the year. He’ll continue to work on his skating and offense down in Providence, while maintaining his defensively responsible and physical play. If and when he gets called up to Boston, he’ll likely be the third or fourth line center, and be tasked with shutting down opponents more than with scoring, which, at least for now, is likely how he’ll be the most successful. As I also said above, Frederic will likely be in the NHL at least as a role player someday, and his ceiling appears to be a middle-six center. He just looks like he needs some more time to develop and work on a few things. But, he appears to be capable of filling in when there are injuries, which is obviously good to see. The Bruins have their full-time centers all but figured out for next season, but it’ll be interesting to see if and when Frederic gets called up, as Jack Studnicka is also now in Providence. But, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens when injuries inevitably occur during the season.
Hockey Addict 