If you don’t remember that the Edmonton Oilers acquired a forward this year’s trade deadline, I don’t blame you. When Stan Bowman finalized a trade to acquire Trent Frederic from the Boston Bruins in a three-way deal with the New Jersey Devils, he expected that the forward would return in relatively short order.
Unfortunately, what was initially prognosticated as a short-term injury has turned into an absence lasting over a month. This left many in Oil Country wondering what their GM was thinking when he gave up a second- and fourth-round pick, alongside two prospects, to get double retention on a player who may not even dress for the team and whose contract expires at the end of the year.
Thankfully, during yesterday’s practice, Kris Knoblauch indicated that Frederic may be activated from injured reserve and play his first game as an Oiler against the Los Angeles Kings. After disappointing seasons from Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson (to their credit, they’ve been turning it up as of late) and a fairly underwhelming deadline in comparison to other Western Conference powerhouses, there’s no doubt that Oilers fans are eager to see what Trent Frederic brings to the lineup. Can he can help fill the void created by the departures of Dylan Holloway, Warren Foegele, and Ryan McLeod? With the playoffs looming, what should fans expect from the 27-year-old left winger when he arrives?
Trent Frederic’s history as a Boston Bruin
Trent Frederic was drafted by the Boston Bruins 29th overall in the 2016 NHL draft. At the time, Keith Gretzky, current Assistant General Manager of the Edmonton Oilers, served as the Bruins’ Director of Amateur Scouting, and shared the following thoughts after the pick was made:
“We had him in the right spot because we all liked him…He’s not going to be a top-two-line guy, we know that. But he has some jam. He plays hard with the penalty minutes. We were fortunate to get him…We believed he was our next guy and we really liked the projection of him as a staff. Everybody raved about him, his character is outstanding. He’s an athlete.”
Not exactly inspiring stuff for a first-round pick, but to Gretzky’s credit, Frederic has developed into exactly that: a physical bottom-six forward who plays with grit and ferocity; amongst all forwards who have played 200+ games, Frederic ranks 19th in the league in Hits/60 since 2022–23.
Don’t let these numbers fool you into thinking that Frederic is devoid of offensive ability; in that same timespan, Frederic has scored at a rate of 1.77 points per 60 at 5v5, which vaults him ahead of Oiler forwards Evander Kane, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Viktor Arvidsson.
Here is a season-by season breakdown of Trent Frederic’s stats in the NHL (on-ice numbers at 5v5 and courtesy of NST):
| Season | GP | TOI/GP | Goals | Assists | Points | oixGF% | oiGF% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018–19 | 15 | 9:24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41.27 | 0 |
| 2019–20 | 2 | 6:26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23.64 | 0 |
| 2020–21 | 42 | 11:15 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 44.97 | 32.04 |
| 2021–22 | 60 | 11:39 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 55.59 | 63.77 |
| 2022–23 | 79 | 11:55 | 17 | 14 | 31 | 56.09 | 68.11 |
| 2023–24 | 82 | 13:45 | 18 | 22 | 40 | 50.35 | 55.59 |
| 2024–25 | 57 | 13:50 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 49.35 | 40.14 |
It’s reasonable to suggest that the numbers from 2018–19 and 2019–20 can be ignored, as Frederic was still playing the majority of his games in Providence at the time. If you’re an optimist, you’ve got your eyes on Frederic’s 2022–23 and 2023–24 seasons, where he scored at approximately a half point per game pace while playing less than 12 minutes a night.
However, even the world’s greatest pessimist would struggle to deny Frederic’s strong underlying metrics and should be heartened to see that he has generally outscored opposition since becoming a regular in the NHL.
Overall, Frederic’s stats are encouraging, marked by year-over-year progression in offensive output and ice time. His numbers from this season aren’t as flattering as the two years prior, but his poor showing can at least partially be explained by the Bruins’ nosediving performance as a whole.
Reasonable expectations for Trent Frederic this year
The numbers posted above give a good indication of what Frederic’s floor will be as an Edmonton Oiler when he returns. In limited minutes, Frederic has been a solid contributor and pushed play in the right direction for the Bruins. This is good news, as it’s unlikely he will be featured in a prominent role off the bat (although he was practicing with Zach Hyman and Adam Henrique yesterday).
That being said, although most of Frederic’s offence has come at 5v5, he also averaged approximately 30 seconds per game on the penalty kill and 50 seconds per game on the power play for the Bruins this year. Those numbers don’t jump off the page, but they’re indicative of Frederic’s versatility and paint a picture of a player who has been relied upon by his coaching staff in a variety of situations when needed.
On the flip side, it’s hard to put a ceiling on Frederic’s potential if he’s able to establish solid chemistry with Leon Draisaitl or Connor McDavid. Both centres have previously established success with physical, forechecking wingers who can do the dirty work with puck retrievals and board play, giving the stars space to operate in the offensive zone. If Patrick Maroon could score 27 goals beside the world’s best player after toiling away for years in Anaheim’s bottom-six, it’s not that farfetched to assume Frederic can reach similar heights in similar circumstances. Vasiliy Podkolzin has been glued to Draisaitl’s hip for most of the 2024–25 season, but his offensive struggles may encourage Knoblauch to experiment with other combinations, including a Leon-Trent duo. Add in some finishing to polish off an aggressive, forechecking mentality (which isn’t out of the question, as he ranks in the 85th percentile for shooting percentage at 5v5 over the past three years), and Frederic could find himself as a mainstay in Edmonton’s top-six. From there, the sky’s the limit.
Optimism for Frederic to join the lineup
The Oilers have been bitten by the injury bug of late, but things may finally be heading in the right direction with Frederic’s Oilers debut. It’s easy to get excited but fans should temper expectations; a high-ankle sprain is no joke, and it may take time for the former Bruin to readjust to the pace of play.
That being said, Edmonton has been searching for a large, punishing forward to plug into their lineup all season, and Frederic’s skillset may be the perfect complement to a forward corps that, on paper, is up there for the best in the West.
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