"I thought he played very well," coach Bruce Cassidy said after the game. "He's as advertised, played between the dots, strong on pucks, played behind their D, made a few plays. If he had a chance to shoot it, he did."
Not that much can be read into a single game, but Frederic has a couple of weeks to prove that he can nail down that spot while the Bruins look for external help ahead of the 2019 NHL Trade Deadline. The biggest holes for the Bruins, who fashion themselves as a Stanley Cup contender, have been a second-line right wing to play with David Krejci and a third-line center who might make that line into a scoring threat, or at least not a liability.
A few names have been floated
in the rumor mill for the center opening: Charlie Coyle (Minnesota Wild), Kevin Hayes (New York Rangers) and Jeff Carter (Los Angeles Kings). It remains to be seen if the Bruins are willing to pay the prices those players will command, especially with the NHL leading Tampa Bay Lightning (37-10-2, 76 points) 16 points ahead of Boston (27-17-6) in the Atlantic Division.
Hayes spoke to NHL.com senior writer Dan Rosen on Monday and said
his preference is to stay with the Rangers
.
General manager Don Sweeney has repeatedly said he is committed to utilizing the prospects the Bruins have amassed the past few seasons. They'll take a long look at Frederic, the latest option, to see if maybe there's a fit who doesn't require surrendering assets in a trade.
The 20-year-old left the University of Wisconsin early, made his professional debut with Providence of the American Hockey League last season and has 17 points (10 goals, seven assists) for Providence this season.
On Tuesday he skated with Danton Heinen and David Backes, his childhood idol growing up in St. Louis, who gave the rookie a glowing review.
"That's like the old days when you get into the lineup and you wanted to make your mark and show that you'll do anything to stay there," Backes said. "He did a heck of a job and I'm proud of him."
Frederic gets his next chance to prove himself against the surging Philadelphia Flyers at TD Garden on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN, TVAS, NESN, NBCSP+, NHL.TV).