The Edmonton Oilers and their fans eagerly await the impact Trent Frederic will bring to the team. Although he’s currently dealing with a lower-body injury, he’s expected to play his first game with the Oilers before April.

It’s uncertain exactly where he’ll slot into the lineup, as Bowman has hinted that he’ll get a chance to play in the Oilers’ top six and possibly at the 3C spot. However, one thing is clear—he’ll bring both physicality and energy to the lineup; being 6-foot-3 and 221 pounds, with 41 fights across the AHL and NHL, while also ranking 34th in the league with 152 hits.

While we await Frederic’s Oilers debut, here are five intriguing facts to get to know the rugged forward a little better.

After playing with the U.S. National Team from 2014 to 2016, Frederic joined the Wisconsin Badgers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in April 2016, where he played two seasons with the Badgers and made a notable impact.

The St. Louis, MO native had a strong first season with the Badgers, scoring 15 goals and 18 assists in 30 games and he finished second on the team in points and first in points-per-game (1.1 P/G). Thanks to his tremendous rookie campaign, he won the Big Ten’s Freshman of the Year award, becoming the first Badger to receive the honour since Dany Heatley won it in the 1999-2000 season.

On top of that, Frederic won the Spike Carlson-Chris Chelios Most Valuable Player award during the 2016-17 season, as voted on by his teammates. He was also named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team in his rookie season and the second-team All-Big Ten team.

As mentioned, Frederic played for the Badgers from 2016 to 2018, and fun fact—it was also the college team of Oilers’ defenceman Ty Emberson; however, their time there didn’t overlap, as Emberson joined the season after Frederic’s departure.

On that note, the Frederic family has no shortage of athletic talent, with Trent being the fourth sibling to compete at the Division I level. His brother Geno played football at the University of Memphis, his sister, KC, played volleyball at Oregon State, and his brother, Grant, played defence for four seasons at Miami University.

Additionally, Trent played with and against his older brother, Grant, while growing up and the two even faced off in the United States Hockey League. Moreover, Frederic mentioned in an interview, “We played shinny in our basement. Grant was three years older, and we would fight a lot—it was pretty competitive.” That said, perhaps that playful fighting helped shape Trent’s current NHL game, because he’s well known for dropping the gloves and he’s pretty good at it— check out his most memorable fights here.

Additionally, Grant was a big advocate for his little brother coming to Edmonton, with Trent recently saying in an interview after the Oilers traded for him, “My brother was pushing, saying how cool it’d be for me to go to Edmonton.” He added, “So he got his dream and I’m pretty pumped too. He was saying how good of a fit I would be, and he watches a lot of hockey, so I’m gonna take his word on it.” In saying that, before the Oilers acquired Frederic, I also felt he’d be a good fit in Edmonton—check out the reasons why here.

Keith Gretzky is currently the Oilers’ assistant general manager and also serves as the GM of their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors. Before this, he spent three years as an amateur scout with the Boston Bruins before being promoted to Director of Amateur Scouting for the 2015-16 season.

Heading into the 2016 NHL Draft, Frederic was projected to go in the late second or early third round, with Bob McKenzie ranking him at No. 50 and Craig Button placing him at No. 100 on his draft list.

Yet, the Bruins selected Frederic in the first round at No. 29, which drew a bit of controversy—not only because experts projected him to be a third-line player, but also because the Bruins brass shared that sentiment. They used a first-round pick—one that usually should land a higher-upside player—on a forward they knew was likely to max out as a bottom-six guy. Gretzky, who was Boston’s Director of Amateur Scouting at the time, said back in 2016:

At the time, Gretzky faced criticism for the pick, as it was believed they could have accumulated more assets by trading down and selecting him in the third round. Nevertheless, despite where he was drafted, Frederic has developed into a solid NHL player. Also, one has to wonder if the Oilers consulted with Gretzky before trading for him, as he’s now poised to be a key piece for the team down the stretch and into the playoffs.

Frederic was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, and played in the St. Louis Blues midget minor hockey program, and a childhood coach of his was former NHL player and 500-goal scorer Keith Tkachuk.

Because of that, Frederic naturally became friends with Matthew and Brady Tkachuk, with the trio often playing roller hockey in his basement as kids and he and Matthew eventually played together in the National Development Program.

But being friends off the ice doesn’t always translate to friendship on it, and last season’s run-in may have changed things.

In last season’s opener, Frederic was looking to spark his team after they fell behind 2-0 and gave Tkachuk a tap with his stick to see if he’d be willing to fight. It looked like fists were about to fly when Frederic shook his gloves off, but Tkachuk didn’t do the same, resulting in the former Bruin receiving a two-minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

Following the game, Frederic had some choice words for his former childhood friend. He was asked if he was surprised Tkachuk took the route of not dropping the gloves, and the new-Oiler said, “There, yeah, because he said ‘yeah,’ but he didn’t.” He added, “He actually asked me [to drop the gloves] because I was asking him, and he didn’t. It’s hard to read that.”

When Frederic was asked if Tkachuk was suckering him into dropping the gloves, he said:

Oilers fans are no strangers to Tkachuk’s gamesmanship, having witnessed it firsthand during his time with the Calgary Flames and again in last season’s Stanley Cup Final. That said, even before stepping on the ice with Edmonton, Frederic already shares something in common with some Oilers’ fans—a distaste for some of Matthew Tkachuk’s on-ice antics.

When Frederic was with the Bruins and Jacob Trouba was with the New York Rangers, a stick-swinging altercation took place on Nov. 25, 2023.

Frederic was battling with Trouba in front of the Rangers’ net, which led to the former New York captain swinging his stick at the forward’s head. Trouba wasn’t penalized during the game and, despite the incident, he didn’t receive a suspension, though he was fined a measly $5,000.

When the two clubs faced off nearly three weeks later, Frederic sought justice for the stick-swinging incident and challenged Trouba to a fight in the second period on Dec. 16, 2023, landing a couple of big right hands.

Frederic said afterward, “I can never hit him as hard as he hit me,” comparing his punch to Trouba’s swing. “I’d have to fight him 10 times to do that. But that’s what’s nice about hockey. You can’t do that in other sports.”

By my count, Frederic has fought Trouba once, and he playfully hinted at the possibility of wanting to fight him more, 10 times to be exact. Considering that both players now play in the Pacific Division, with Trouba now a member of the Anaheim Ducks, look for chippiness between the two. Maybe they’ll even square off again when the Oilers face the Ducks on April 7th.

All in all, Frederic has overcome the draft-day controversy to become a physical and solid NHL player and is expected to be a key piece for the Oilers down the stretch and into the playoffs. With that in mind, where do you think his ideal fit will be in the lineup?