Why Bruce Cassidy Trusts Trent Frederic To Be More Than Just Fighter

Trent Frederic has grown to become an enforcer in short order.

The Boston Bruins forward dropped the mitts for a second time in the last two weeks Friday, this one coming against New York Rangers winger Brendan Lemieux.

Lemieux may have got the better of 6-foot-3, 203-pound Frederic in the second-period bout, in large part because he somewhat jumped Frederic after a face off. It came immediately after a goal by Nick Ritchie gave Boston a one-goal lead in the Bruins eventual 1-0 win over the Rangers.

Frederic was visibly heated upon heading to the penalty box and, at that moment, challenged Lemieux to another bout. Of course, with the Bruins holding a mere 1-0 lead and playing the first five minutes without Jeremy Lauzon after a 10-minute misconduct for a fight of his own, Frederic’s second bout with Lemieux would not have benefitted the Bruins.

But it wasn’t something Bruce Cassidy felt the need to tell the 23-year-old Frederic, who the Bruins coach noted has played with “discipline.”

“Nope. Nope. Listen, that club’s in his bag. Freddy, so far, has shown real good discipline. I don’t think he’s taken a penalty, has he all year? Other than fights? I don’t think he’s taken a minor penalty to put us — so he clearly knows that he’s played within the rules. So no, I don’t (feel the need to calm him down),” Cassidy told reporters after the win.

“If he became out of control and you see a guy who’s eyes are out the back of his head going crazy, then yeah you’re going to have to talk him back into the game so to speak. But Freddy hasn’t shown that. That part of it where he’s snapped, I guess, and lost focused in the games.”

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That demeanor, the trust Cassidy seems to have in Frederic has helped the winger stick around Boston this season. The 2016 first-round pick has played 13 games for the B’s during the 2020-2021 campaign. He played 17 total over the last two seasons combined.

“He’s got, like a lot of young guys, routes that we remind him of and some different things that he needs to do to get better every night. And we’re going to work with him,” Cassidy said. “But that other part, he seems to have a real good sense of when to engage with the opponent. He’s done it twice now. I thought (vs. Lemieux) got jumped a little early on, but found himself. So, good for him. I think it helped generate some energy for us again.”

Frederic’s first fight came earlier this month against Washington’s Tom Wilson. He was praised for that tilt as it gave Boston a much-needed boost, and with the physical play from both sides Friday, it did much of the same.

Frederic and the Bruins will take the ice against the New York Islanders on Saturday night at 7 p.m., which you can watch on NESN.