After a public challenge, Trent Frederic answered the call with a brutal fight. Can this newfound grit ignite the Oilers' season?
After a 9–1 drubbing at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche, Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch didn’t mince words when it came to the team's performance, and one forward in particular. He avoided blasting his goalies, but when it came to forward Trent Frederic, he was brutally honest.
“We’d like more out of Trent,” Knoblauch said. “He isn’t happy with how he’s playing. We’d like more offense but also more tenacity and physicality.”
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It was a public challenge, the kind that can make or break a player’s confidence. Frederic got the message loud and clear.
Two nights later, in a 5-4 overtime win against the Columbus Blue Jackets, he took on one of the NHL’s toughest customers in Mathieu Olivier. The result wasn’t pretty — Frederic lost the fight and left briefly for repairs — but the impact was undeniable.
Connor McDavid praised him afterward: “Huge credit to Freddy. Taking on that guy, trying to give us a spark. Not a lot of guys take on that guy.” Jake Walman echoed the sentiment, calling it “a huge moment” for the team. Even Knoblauch credited the forward for “getting the group going.”
Despite losing the battle, perhaps Frederic won the war. It was the exact kind of response every coach hopes for when they call a player out — effort, leadership, and accountability.
Now the question is whether he can keep that fire burning. The hope is that a loss doesn't deter him from stepping up his game and playing a more physical role. Perhaps he'll want some retribution and to find another opponent, this time getting a win and feeling better about his pugilistic abilities.
Edmonton doesn’t just need one night of energy — it needs that edge to become part of Frederic’s game. For a team that’s often leaned too heavily on skill, moments like this can help redefine what winning hockey looks like. It may not be what the rest of the team is comfortable doing (sans maybe Vasily Podkolzin and Darnell Nurse) but Edmonton needs a couple of guys who are consistently ready to drop the gloves, even if the league has drastically changed in that regard.
Frederic might have lost the fight, but he won something far more valuable — his coach’s respect and his team’s belief.
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