Bruins Sign Trent Frederic To Three-Year Entry-Level Contract
Trent Frederic has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Bruins, GM Don Sweeney announced on Tuesday. The University of Wisconsin forward will join the Providence Bruins on an Amateur Tryout Agreement (ATO) for the rest of the 2017-18 season.
The Bruins drafted Frederic, 20, 29th overall in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. He played the last two seasons with the Wisconsin Badgers, totaling 32 goals and 33 assists in 66 highly productive games for them.
Frederic, a native of St. Louis, Missouri, has also represented Team USA early in his career. He won a bronze with Team USA in the 2018 World Junior Championship and also played in the 2016 Under-18 WJC as a 17-year-old.
Keith Gretzky, who was the Bruins’ Director of Amateur Scouting when the B’s selected Frederic in 2016, had a curiously underwhelming projection for his first-round draft status.
“[Frederic] is not going to be a top-two-line guy, we know that,” he said after the draft. “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.”
Frederic has looked like a good pick so far, however. He was the Big 10 Freshman of the Year in 2016-17 and finished fourth among all college freshmen in points per game (1.18). He appears to be in the Bruins’ plans for 2018-19 at the NHL level, perhaps with a chance to become the No. 3 center.
The 6-foot-3 Frederic will give the B’s size, toughness, and a strong two-way game when he makes it to the NHL. He has also shown some offensive upside in recent years and could be a factor in the Bruins’ bottom-six, with Riley Nash likely hitting free agency after the season.
— By Matt Dolloff, 985TheSportsHub.com
Matt Dolloff is a digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Have a news tip, question, or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff or email him at matthew.dolloff@bbgi.com.