Trent Frederic spent last season searching for something solid to grab onto, and by his own account, he never really found it until later in the year. The Edmonton Oilers forward said in a recent interview with Bob Stauffer on Oilers Now that he was still feeling the effects of a high ankle sprain, and that showed up in the way his season unfolded. He said he felt a bit lost, which matched the way he looked to fans hoping for the bottom six to provide some answers.
That picture started to change after the Olympic break. Frederic’s foot speed improved, and he became more willing to get involved in scrums and drop the gloves. Still, one of the biggest questions around him remains the same: where does he fit?
For Frederic, the most obvious answer is penalty killing. He pointed to that role as something he wants and something he has already handled before in Boston.
Last season in Edmonton, he didn’t kill penalties at all, logging just three seconds 4-on-5. Connor Clattenburg had 12 seconds of PK time.
“I would love to have that role,” said Frederic. “I’m just trying to latch onto any role.
Anytime you get out there a little bit more, you feel better about yourself, and teammates feel better about you. If that’s a shot block or getting it down and out, or killing 45 seconds, I would love that opportunity.”
There’s reason to believe that assignment could suit him. Frederic’s best offensive season came in the same year he logged the most penalty-killing minutes of his career. In 2023-24 with Boston, he put up a career-high 18 goals and 40 points while playing 51:04 shorthanded.
New coach Mike Babcock is also part of the equation now, and Frederic sounds eager for the reset. Babcock has been meeting with players and learning how they operate, and Frederic views it as a clean slate.
“I’ve talked to Babs, and I think it went pretty well,” he told Stauffer. “I liked everything he was saying. He seems like a coach that I think I’ll gel with, and I think he’ll get the best out of me, get the most out of me, selfishly.
“But I think just for the team, I think it’s exactly what we need. I think everyone’s excited. Everyone I’ve talked to seems like they’re pretty pumped up.”
Frederic also found a spark alongside Colton Dach after the trade deadline. The two formed one half of the “Bash Brothers,” and Frederic said Dach’s style brought real chemistry to the line. Dach re-signed for two years in the offseason.
“He was great,” Frederic said of Dach, who re-upped for two years in the off-season.
“I didn’t realize honestly, how good he was until he came and played with us. When you go into Chicago in the last couple of years, they were a young team.
It’s just kind of a game you think you’re gonna win, but I don’t know. He’s impressive.
His ceiling is so high, and I think he’s not even there yet, so it’s cool.”
Frederic can’t rewrite what happened last season, but a healthier summer, a sharper edge, and a clearer job description could change the conversation quickly for Edmonton.
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Frederic says he is finally feeling recovered, which matters for an Oilers team that has already made changes to the roster and is looking for cleaner answers heading into the next season. A healthier Frederic gives Edmonton a chance to see what he can actually bring under new coach Mike Babcock, and whether he can become a more useful piece rather than just another name from a frustrating year. The bigger question now is whether this is the reset that lets him move past the injury-plagued version of 2025-26 and show the player the Oilers thought they were getting. [Read more 🡒]