Oilers Have Put Forward Trent Frederic on Early Notice

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Trent Frederic told the Edmonton Oilers media contingent on hand at the early-morning skate on Monday: “Just play harder. Be harder on the puck.” That was his response to questions about the messaging he received from head coach Mike Babcock after Frederic was made a healthy scratch against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

“I think when I have the puck, winning my battles and playing actually physical. Get some heavy hits,” Frederic said. “Everyone wants to play. Everyone wants to play more. Everyone wants to score more. That’s just human nature; that’s why everyone is at this level. You listen to the coach and take the news. Listen to what he has to say and his insight. He has pretty good insight.” He noted, “Just gotta take that, and hopefully it doesn’t happen again.”

He added, “I know I’ll get this going. It can be frustrating, but I know I’m a good hockey player and I know I’ll get this going. It can be frustrating, but at the same time, just go out and work my hardest and do the best I can.”

Babcock was asked the same questions. He first talked about his fight with Utah’s Jack McBain, giving him credit for stepping up. Babcock then offered the path moving forward. “Freddy was running for Mayor; he couldn’t walk around town, for crying out loud. He did such a good job, and we respect that. But there are certain things that we just expect from him, and we’ve gone through and laid it out as clearly as you can be, and we expect that. That’s what we’re looking for.”

Related: Big Concern for Oilers on the Zach Hyman Injury Front

Frederic either didn’t get the message or the coach didn’t give him the chance to make good. On Monday night, as the Oilers battled the Detroit Red Wings, Frederic was back in the lineup, but played only 7:14. It was the lowest ice time among forwards and actually less than Zach Hyman‘s 8:25, who was injured in the game and didn’t play the second or third periods.

What Does This Mean for Frederic?

Yet another coach seems to have put the rugged forward in the doghouse early. Kris Knoblauch did it last season after giving him top-line minutes to start the year. Babcock has kept saying positive things about Frederic, but the ice time tells another story.

Now, with Hyman likely out for a week, if not more, what’s next? The expectation is that Colton Dach will be moved up to the second line. Ike Howard will likely get more time too. Where does that leave Frederic? He needs to make the most of his limited minutes, because it doesn’t look like he’ll get more.

Frederic has eight points in 86 games since being traded to the Oilers. He has five more seasons remaining on his deal and three of those seasons include a full no-move clause. It’s too early to say that Frederic is the kind of player Babcock has bailed on. What we can deduce is that this is not a good sign that two coaches are now taking the same approach, the latest of which is doing so with an extremely shortened bench due to injuries.

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