Oilers forward Trent Frederic is having "a lot more fun this year"

Entering this season, one player who needed to have a bounce back season potentially more than anyone on the Edmonton Oilers roster was Trent Frederic.

Last season was a rough go for the 28 year old, who had the worst statistical season of his career. Fresh off an eight-year contract extension he signed the summer before, paying him $3.85 million per season. In 74 games with the Oilers, Frederic scored just seven points (four goals, three assists) and averaged 11:02 of time-on-ice on a nightly basis.

It was a big commitment for the former Boston Bruins first round pick. Stan Bowman and the Oilers had acquired him at the 2025 NHL trade deadline, where he played just one regular season game in Edmonton. He also played a depth role in the playoffs as the Oilers marched to a second straight Stanley Cup Finals appearance.

Frederic is off to a better start

Now, he seems to finally be moving forward and has started the 2026-27 season in a much better place.

Although Frederic has averaged less minutes this year, dropping to 10:04 per game, he appears on the ice to be much more effective. He received plenty of praise from fans for his fight duringSaturday night's match against the Utah Mammoth.

This exciting tilt comes following a few games where Frederic was effective as a role player, sharing a line primarily with young players Isaac Howard and Josh Samanski. The trio played over 21 minutes at 5-on-5 and had an impressive 69.6% expected goals percentage together with a positive goal differential.

Based on recent practice lines, following some roster moves that the Oilers have made while they regained some players following injuries. Frederic looks to fill in a role as a fourth line centre, at least for the time being.

So far, Frederic has flourished as a bottom-six player for the Oilers, something that he attributes to his confidence.

Frederic finding confidence with the Oilers

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Frederic spoke about how he has more confidence in his game this year than he did last year. He credits a lot of this with the Oilers' new bench boss saying "Babs has us playing well, there's no grey area in our game, everyone knows what what we're supposed to do and I think everyone feels good about their game."

Frederic added onto this, elaborating more saying "I think like I said, the X's and O's and all that stuff, is super clear. He wants me to get my confidence higher and that's something I'm working on. Just like anything in life, if you're confident you do it better."

Frederic also said something that has caused some fans to question just how bad things were last season under Kris Knoblauch. Frederic added "I'm having a lot more fun this year than I was last year, just fun to be at the rink."

It is not the only thing that an Oilers player or reporters have said that has raised eyebrows. Notably, during the first days of training camp last month, many noted a clear difference in how practices are structured under the two bench bosses.

Hopefully Frederic and the Oilers are able to carry this momentum forward and go back to the Stanley Cup Finals for a third time in recent years later this season.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow