2016 NHL Draft: Boston Bruins Draft Trent Frederic 29th Overall
2016 NHL Draft: Boston Bruins Draft Trent Frederic 29th Overall on Friday night
While many were hoping the Boston Bruins would trade away at least one of their first round draft picks, they ultimately used both. The first selection was made on Boston University defenseman Charlie McAvoy which filled a very pressing need for the Bruins. Their second selection, however, was off the board and will leave many Bruins’ fans scratching their head and questioning the pick altogether.
The Bruins selected center Trent Frederic out of the US National Development Program. He was ranked 47th among North American Skaters by NHL Central Scouting and was selected far higher than anybody expected him to go.
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Things to like about Frederic are his stick-handling skills, ability to shoot and score from just about anywhere on the ice, and a willingness to go to the dirty areas of the ice. There are questions about whether or not Frederic will be able to make the jump to the next level eventually, but his skill-set could translate well to the NHL game with proper development.
The Bruins will likely utilize Frederic in a third or fourth line role if he does make it to the NHL. Most teams don’t look to make bottom-six selections in the first round of the draft, especially when there were players with higher potential as well as the option to trade back instead. The Bruins could have selected Alex DeBrincat who could be the NHL’s next Johnny Gaudreau story, but the Bruins decided to go with a more well-rounded, bigger player who is probably the safer pick in the long-run.
Next: Bruins Draft Charlie McAvoy 14th Overall
The Bruins ultimately finished the night without acquiring a top-four defenseman – their top priority heading into this off-season. There is still another day to work on acquiring that elusive defenseman, but this night has to be considered a disappointment for the Bruins as they had the resources to potentially work something out.