OverDrive - Frederic on his season with the Oilers, experiencing the playoffs and recovering from his injury

Episode Date: August 22, 2025

Edmonton Oilers Forward Trent Frederic joined OverDrive to discuss his first overall season with the Oilers, experiencing the Stanley Cup Playoffs on the team, recovering from an ankle injury in Edmonton, his placement on the lineup, performing with Connor McDavid on the ice and more

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Alpine Credits, where homeowners get approved. Fisrael License 12-6-16-1-6. From the Evanton orders, Trent Frederick. Trent, welcome. How are you today? I'm doing well. How are you going to do it? Good.

Sounds like you're driving around. I am. I'm actually, you're in the car right now with John Lonsbury. Out of Boston, we're actually pulling up to the rink right now. So, I mean, you've got a nice eight-year deal with the Oilers. You've got sort of an audition, getting into the Stanley Cup final. Your thoughts and all of that? Yeah, it was a very cool experience, obviously.

You know, we want a different outcome, but hopefully in this eight years I get a couple more chances and take a couple more runs at it. So, Trent, where are you on the sort of the off-season routine? Take us through when you have a shorter off-season because your team makes it all the way to the Cup final. How does that affect the way you prepare for the next season? And where are you in that arc of getting ready?

Yeah, I mean, I was kind of dealing with a little bit of an injury, so I was just dealing with that, like, kind of right away when I got home, and then I would say about two weeks, or two weeks once I was home, started working out and started skating when I got cleared with kind of what I was dealing with. So I've been hitting it pretty hard recently, skating about, I don't know, four to almost five times a week now and doing the whole workout deal. So kind of back into full swing, I would say. Trent, yeah, congratulations on the big deal with Evanton. Just a couple things, you know, where is that ankle at? How are you feeling? And then, you know, where do you feel or where the coach's staff feel you might play this

this year? Is it wing center for the team? Yeah, the ankle feels, I think it feels really good right now. I feel like it's over the last month, it's really turned a corner, which is great. I'm running, jumping in the gym, and I'm skating as hard as I can. So it feels good. Still doing a lot of work on it every day. There's a lot of good people here that have helped me.

But as in your second question, I don't know, I said it like when I first got there, I call myself Freddie Fillen. I pretty much play left, right, and center. So the thing is just all depends on camp and how camp goes. And, you know, hopefully in the preseason games in camp, I'm kind of, I guess, doing all three and see what fits best for the team. So what you described there, the Freddie Fillin thing, I mean, it's almost like going back to your first training cap,

isn't it like trying to figure out how you fit in? Yeah, I mean, I think every year, you know, obviously it's my first training camp in Edmonton. Even when I was in Boston, I feel like every year there's new faces and new guys, and you're just trying to find your role on the team and make the team successful as possible. So in terms of your, when you're skating in the summer, Trent, I mean,

did you say you're based in Boston? No, I'm based on the St. Louis. You're based on St. Louis. Okay. So what's it, are you, What's the scene there like in terms of NHL caliber guys that you're skating with? Or do you just skate on your own? Are you with a group of guys in the league that are in the St. Louis area? How does it work for you? Yeah.

So it's kind of a good setup here. My workout, my gym and the rink are in the same spot. So I'm able to skate with like a small group of guys and work on skills. And we've, Stamos isn't like the biggest, I guess, NHL hotbed or guys hanging here. so we kind of have college guys and everyone all over the place when we do more scrimmage stuff. But like I said, I'm in the car right now with John Lonsbury. He's actually based out of Boston.

He just got into town, and we're going to work on some skills this weekend, so it'll be good. Trent, you know, the team, the Oilers had a great run. Obviously, didn't quite get what you want. But for you, your first real deep trip in the playoffs, what's your take home, you know, learning lessons about what it's like to run for four rounds in a row? yeah um i guess the biggest takeaway would be you know it's it's hard to get there um you know guys

would say when i was in boston like you just got to uh appreciate each run and uh nothing's really guaranteed even making the playoffs and i would say just appreciating um you know going each round and uh you know it's taxing for myself uh i was dealing with something so um you know that part was a you know a factor of just trying to get healthy each round and get better um i didn't played too much hockey leading up to the playoffs. So for me, and I think even if I was healthy, it's just about getting better each round because each

round, you know, the opponents get better and better. So let's go back to the trade deadline. Was this a surprise to you? And when you walked into that Edmonton dressing room and looked at that lineup as you're playing on various lines, I mean, it's fairly impressive, isn't it? Yeah.

I kind of knew I was probably going to get moved, especially, I guess, when I got hurt. I knew probably my time in Boston was probably done, just being a, I guess, expiring UFA. So it wasn't like the biggest surprise

to me. Then obviously, showing up to Emerson, everyone was so great. They made it really easy on me. And, you know, it would have been nice to just hop right in when I got traded and play. But it was also a blessing that I was I guess hurt because I got to meet, you know, the staff and I got to know everyone on a, I guess, on a better, more times down with them, and I think that was a big part of why I stayed.

And when you look at the team that's been coating the cup around these past two summers now, I know you know them well because you played them an awful lot in the regular season and the playoffs during your time with the Bruins and the Oilers, when you see what they've been able to do, when you see what they've been able to do in terms of retaining their impending free agent and free agents, including your old captain in Boston, Brad Marchand. What do you make of it and sort of how does the league toppled them off that pedestal? Yeah, I mean, that's a good question.

I think that's what everyone's got to figure out this year. I think, you know, last year and in the year before, I believe they're the best team in the NHL, and that's the reason they won, as much as that kills me to say, they were a heck of a team, and they played a great team game. and, you know, they probably have deserved to win the last two years. Trent, there's a few new faces in the lineup for the Oilers heading to training camp. What's the message been from the coaching staff as far as, you know, just maybe preparing for what they hope would be another good run at this year?

Yeah, I mean, basically at the end of the year meeting, and Nobs has been good. He's been checking on me and seeing how I'm doing. I haven't gotten too much in the strategy of things, but, you know, man via meeting, I think it went really well. And it sounds like, you know, our goal is to get back there and to win it all. So, Trent, you've got an eight-year contract, and at some point in the next, what, 13 months, that won't be available anymore. The max will be seven. How did you arrive at eight, and what do you think about it?

Yeah, I'm really happy with it. how I got to I guess I just want to be committed to a team and be a part of it you know it's in Boston I was there for seven years and the last couple years are great being around there and feeling comfortable

and just have the long-term commitment to Edmonton and I feel like the core the group they have there gives me the best chance of you know winning the Stanley Cup and I feel like that's a hockey player that's all you can ask for yeah we were just having a fun conversation with Struddy about the importance of having a social convener on a hockey team

to sort of take, you know, organize the off-ice stuff and keep everybody together through the long slog of the season. I mean, what's your take on that? And where do you fit into that hierarchy during your career? Yeah, I felt like in Boston, I can't really speak too much on the Emmington Park. The only time I was really on the road with the team was in the playoffs, which is a little less, you know, more time at the hotel, less time outside of it. But in Boston, I would say one of the younger guys, it was an older team.

So I hate to say it, but I was probably a follower, but I was always there. Whenever we had something, and, you know, hopefully down the line here, I can help out there. You know, playing against great players is always something to see, but then playing beside them. What's it like, you know, interacting on the ice with Connor McDavid and the skill set he possesses? yeah it's pretty amazing um you know obviously um i feel like he's someone that um you know i inspired to him in the sense of how he works a lot of stuff he does i always tell people probably don't watch him because you can't do it um he's so good um but he's someone to inspire of how hard he works and i feel like uh the takeaway from me playing with him

uh it wasn't really his talent level it was just to that the dedication he has to the game of hockey and how much she really wants to win. It's pretty crazy. Trent, thanks for your time and enjoy the drive. Thanks very much. I appreciate it. Thanks, guys. You too, thank you. Trent, Frederick from the Edmonton order.

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