SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF NHL 7/1/2021 Arizona Coyotes Detroit Red Wings 1190073 Arizona Coyotes set to announce new head coach 1190098 Detroit Red Wings hire old nemesis to help coach up Thursday at Gila River Arena power play: Alex Tanguay 1190074 Reports: OHL’s Andre Tourigny draws interest in Coyotes’ 1190099 Red Wings turn to old nemesis, new assistant Alex coaching search Tanguay to help build up power play 1190075 Reports: Arizona Coyotes expected to sign Andre 1190100 Red Wings hire Alex Tanguay as assistant coach Tourigny as head coach 1190101 Former Red Wings defenseman Chris Chelios joins ESPN as NHL analyst Boston Bruins 1190102 Canadiens look to cap remarkable run as Lightning eye 1190076 Jay Pandolfo leaving Bruins to be associate head coach at Stanley Cup repeat Boston University, report says 1190077 Young Bruin Trent Frederic looks to the future — but Edmonton Oilers where will that be? 1190103 Connor McDavid equalling the feats of hockey's all-time 1190078 Bruins’ Brad Marchand named to NHL’s First All-Star greats Team for second time 1190104 Oilers’ Connor McDavid wants ‘more consistency’ with 1190079 Trent Frederic looking to build on his first full season with NHL playoff officiating; still hopes to play in Olympics Bruins 1190105 Lowetide: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ future value to the Oilers 1190080 After rookie season, Trent Frederic says 'I have a lot more will be defined by his adaptability to offer' 1190106 The Gifted: Evaluating Oilers prospect Carter Savoie is 1190081 Boston Bruins Frederic Admits He Has “A Lot More To about what he is, not what he isn’t Offer” Florida Panthers Buffalo Sabres 1190107 Eight years ago, the Florida Panthers drafted Sasha 1190082 Don Granato's 'Donnie Meatballs' nickname picks up Barkov steam, sparks invite to judge Street Brawl Los Angeles Kings Carolina Hurricanes 1190108 Kings Seasons In Review – Adrian Kempe 1190083 Tom Dundon completes full purchase of Carolina Hurricanes Minnesota Wild 1190084 Tom Dundon takes over full ownership of the Carolina 1190109 Kirill Kaprizov's Calder reaffirms value — and Wild's tricky Hurricanes negotiations 1190085 Which Hurricanes player might the Seattle Kraken snag in 1190110 Kaprizov wins NHL's top rookie award after rewriting Wild the NHL expansion draft? record book 1190086 Tom Dundon on taking full ownership of Hurricanes, Carolina’s delayed outdoor game and ads on NHL jerseys Montreal Canadiens 1190111 Vasilevskiy slams the door on Habs as Lightning take a Chicago Blackhawks 2-0 series lead 1190087 Could Duncan Keith be headed out of Chicago after 16 1190112 Quebec’s Public Health Department will not allow more seasons? Report floats rumored trade talks involving the fans at the Bell Centre 1190088 Jonathan Toews says he plans to return to the Chicago 1190113 Behind the mask: How Montreal Canadiens Carey Price Blackhawks and reveals the illness that kept him out las pushed himself to succeed 1190089 Blackhawks reportedly considering trading Duncan Keith 1190114 In the Habs' Room: Montreal's offence struggling to solve 1190090 Sweet relief: Video shows us that Jonathan Toews is alive Vasilevskiy and well 1190115 Canadiens suffer demoralizing 3-1 loss in Game 2 vs. 1190091 'My body just fell apart': Blackhawks' Toews announces Lightning his return for the coming season 1190116 Only 3,500 fans will be allowed at Bell Centre for Cup final 1190092 Report: Blackhawks working on Duncan Keith trade games 1190093 Blackhawks’ Jonathan Toews opens up about the longest 1190117 Stu Cowan: Lightning have strong connections to year of his life: ‘The best worst thing that’s ever happ Canadiens and Quebec 1190118 Canadiens looking to to bring Stanley Cup back home Colorado Avalanche 1190119 'I saw the picture,' Habs' Brendan Gallagher says about 1190094 LeBrun: Cale Makar an offer sheet target; Seth Jones bloody face trade interest from Avs, Flyers, Blackhawks 1190120 Canadiens Game Day: Habs beat themselves 3-1 in 1190095 “The hockey world is a small world” – Alex Tanguay on Game 2 of Cup final becoming a Red Wings coach 1190121 Todd: Trio left behind in 2003 are key to Habs’ Stanley Cup run Columbus Blue Jackets 1190122 What the Puck: Geoff Molson and Valérie Plante are in a 1190096 Sylvain Lefebvre hired to round out Columbus Blue Twitter fight Jackets coaching staff 1190123 Canadiens at Lightning: Five things you should know 1190124 ‘We’re going to find our offence’: How the Canadiens can Dallas Stars learn from what worked in Game 2 to break through in 1190097 Stars forward Jason Robertson finishes second in Calder 1190125 Canadiens adjust their game plan in Game 2, but mistakes Trophy voting hurt them again: Playoff plus/minus Nashville Predators 1190126 Report: Preds could put Viktor Arvidsson on trade block New Jersey Devils Toronto Maple Leafs 1190127 Devils, 76ers CEO Scott O’Neil announces he’s stepping 1190156 Month of July for Leafs' GM Dubas will should build to a down boil from a simmer 1190128 How Devils prospect Graeme Clarke made the most of a 1190157 LeBrun: Cale Makar an offer sheet target; Seth Jones weird, unexpected year trade interest from Avs, Flyers, Blackhawks New York Islanders Vancouver Canucks 1190129 Islanders look forward to a normal season, finally 1190163 Duncan Keith could be on the move to a 'Pacific 1190130 NYHN Daily: Islanders Pageau Has Surgery, Expansion Northwest' NHL team: report Draft, & More Vegas Golden Knights New York Rangers 1190158 Golden Knights look forward to normal 2021-22 season 1190131 Rangers will have to lose players to make offseason noise 1190159 Golden Knights have big decision to make on ‘warrior’ free 1190132 Rangers' Adam Fox sought to gain more trust, agent Alec Martinez responsibility in second season 1190160 Did Marc-Andre Fleury Vezina Win Cement Him Staying With VGK? NHL 1190133 Every Shot, and Second, Counts for Tampa Bay Washington Capitals 1190161 Connor McDavid, Alex Ovechkin headline recent Hart Ottawa Senators Trophy vote runaways 1190134 Senators Finnish goaltending prospect on his way to 1190162 Potential free agent fits for the Capitals from the Tampa Kingston Bay Lightning Philadelphia Flyers Websites 1190135 ESPN’s new NHL roster has several Flyers connections, 1190164 The Athletic / NHL Mock Draft: Scott Wheeler maps out including a once-hated foe who goes after Owen Power in the first round 1190136 Soon-to-be dad Konecny gearing up for new life, on and 1190165 The Athletic / The rise of Jennifer Botterill, the breakout off the ice media star of this NHL season 1190166 The Athletic / Down Goes Brown: The NHL’s 18th place Pittsburgh Penguins team is on the verge of a Stanley Cup. It has to mean som 1190137 Penguins A to Z: Sam Lafferty needs to find more offense 1190167 Sportsnet.ca / Price looks less than superhuman at wrong 1190138 Tim Benz: Numbers from Tampa Bay Lightning time as Canadiens fall behind 0-2 postseason run are replicating Penguins' Stanley Cup 1190168 Sportsnet.ca / Canadiens hit roadblock in Tampa as luck success runs out in Game 2 1190139 Penguins offseason preview: Where does Bryan Rust fit 1190169 Sportsnet.ca / ENOUGH TALK into the club's future? 1190170 Sportsnet.ca / NHL Betting Guide: How goal props could 1190140 Two Possible Penguins Free Agent Targets Coming Off help you win big on Cup Final the Board? 1190171 USA TODAY / Andrei Vasilevskiy, Blake Coleman's 1190141 Next Contract: Zach Aston-Reese Worth and Market buzzer-beating goal lead Lightning past Canadiens in Collide Game 2 1190172 USA TODAY / Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan San Jose Sharks Toews opens up about health condition that held him out 1190142 After ‘extraordinarily large’ financial losses, Sharks hopeful of 202 that fans’ return will provide a boost SPORT-SCAN, INC. 941-284-4129 1190143 Has Bias Against Drafting Goalie in 1st Round Gone Too Far? Seattle Kraken 1190144 Former players of Kraken coach Dave Hakstol tell of hard work, team-first attitude: ‘Seattle’s going to be ver St Louis Blues 1190145 A Tarasenko trade would fetch the Blues some cap space - but what else? Tampa Bay Lightning 1190146 Lightning’s Stanley Cup journey runs right through ice hockey’s homeland 1190147 Lightning reach deep for Game 2 win over Canadiens 1190148 Stanley Cup final: Lightning-Canadiens Game 2 live updates 1190149 This Lightning fan dances his heart out at postseason home games 1190150 Titus O’Neil surprises Tampa fire captain with Stanley Cup tickets 1190151 Lightning increasing Amalie Arena to full capacity 1190152 With Alex Killorn out, Mathieu Joseph draws in for Lightning 1190153 How to watch the Lightning play Montreal in the Stanley Cup final 1190154 Lightning’s Mikhail Sergachev blossoming into sound two-way defenseman 1190155 Behind the Blake Coleman buzzer-beating goal that will forever live in Lightning lore 1190073 Arizona Coyotes
Arizona Coyotes set to announce new head coach Thursday at Gila River Arena
José M. Romero
The Arizona Coyotes announced a news conference for Thursday morning at which the team will introduce its new head coach. Signs point to it being longtime Canada national team and junior-level coach André Tourigny.
Tourigny, a 47-year-old native of Quebec, earlier this month helped Team Canada to the gold medal as an assistant coach at the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship. He's believed to be the leading candidate after a Coyotes' search for a coach that began right at the end of the regular season last month.
Tourigny, head coach and vice president of hockey operations for the Ottawa 67s of the Ontario (Canada) Hockey League for the past four seasons, has three seasons of experience as an NHL assistant coach with the Colorado Avalanche and Ottawa Senators.
He has coached since 1998, starting in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, and has been a head coach and assistant at both the junior and senior national team levels for Hockey Canada.
The Coyotes have found the successor to Rick Tocchet, with whom the club parted ways after four years on May 9. The search for a new coach got under way immediately with that decision, and General Manager Bill Armstrong targeted 10 original candidates that were eventually whittled down to a smaller group of finalists earlier this month.
Armstrong had said he hoped to have a head coach in place before the NHL draft, and one is in the fold with three weeks until that takes place. The Coyotes will start the draft on its second day, July 24, with a second- round pick.
Tourigny coached Coyotes forward Barrett Hayton as an assistant at the 2019-20 IIHF World Junior championship, and earlier this month worked with current Coyotes Michael Bunting, Darcy Kuemper and Adin Hill at the IIHF World Championship.
Coyotes Chief Hockey Development Officer Shane Doan was the assistant general manager for Team Canada.
A two-time OHL Coach of the Year and one-time Canadian junior hockey Coach of the Year, Tourigny had a 130-52-16 record with the 67s. He is under contract with Hockey Canada to be an assistant coach at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, head coach at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship in Alberta, Canada, and head coach at the 2022 IIHF World Championship in Finland.
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Reports: OHL’s Andre Tourigny draws interest in Coyotes’ coaching search
BY ARIZONA SPORTS
The Arizona Coyotes have done extensive vetting of Ottawa 67s (Ontario Hockey League) coach Andre Tourigny as they continue their head- coaching search, according to multiple reports over the past week.
Coyotes Insider reporter Craig Morgan said Tourigny met with the Coyotes face-to-face.
Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic added Tuesday that talks between the two sides have “intensified,” while TSN’s Elliotte Friedman said Monday that Arizona has done a “very deep dive” on Tourigny’s candidacy.
With the 67s, Tourigny captured back-to-back OHL Coach of the Year honors in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons to go along with two division titles.
He has NHL assistant coaching experience as well. In 2013, Tourigny accepted a job on staff with the Colorado Avalanche. He would eventually resign in 2015 before becoming an assistant coach for the Ottawa Senators. He was fired a year later.
After his NHL stint, Tourigny returned to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in 2016, taking over head coaching duties for the Halifax Mooseheads.
His time with the Mooseheads lasted one season, with Tourigny joining the 67s as the team’s head coach and VP of hockey operations in 2017.
Tourigny was an assistant coach when the Canadian Junior National Ice Hockey Team took home a gold medal at the 2020 IIHF World Under-20 Championship. He was named head coach of the junior team for the 2021 IIHF World Under-20 Championship, helping Canada secure a silver medal.
Tourigny originally got his start in the QMJHL as the head coach and general manager of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies from 2002-13. He was named the QMJHL Coach of the Year in 2005-06. Tourigny was also an assistant on the Canadian junior team in 2010 and 2011.
The Coyotes continue their head-coaching search after the team and former head coach Rick Tocchet agreed to part ways May 9.
Tocchet spent four seasons as Arizona’s head coach, going 125-131-34 with a single playoff appearance in the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season.
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Reports: Arizona Coyotes expected to sign Andre Tourigny as head coach
BY ARIZONA SPORTS | JUNE 30, 2021 AT 7:47 PM UPDATED: JUNE 30, 2021 AT 7:50 PM
The Arizona Coyotes are reportedly hiring Hockey Canada coach Andre Tourigny to become their eighth head coach in franchise history, according to the Associated Press.
The announcement is expected to be made by the team on Thursday.
The hiring comes after the Coyotes and former head coach Rick Tocchet agreed to part ways on May 9.
Tocchet spent four seasons as Arizona’s head coach, going 125-131-34 with a single playoff appearance in the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season.
Tourigny has experience in two minor-league levels, three years as an NHL assistant coach and also has served in the upper-levels of Hockey Canada’s junior and men’s national teams.
He is familiar with Coyotes chief hockey development officer and former captain Shane Doan, who is assistant general manager for the national team of Hockey Canada. Tourigny was an assistant coach for the men’s national team in 2021 and head coach of the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship squad.
With the men’s national team, Tourigny has coached current Coyotes goalies Darcy Kuemper and Adin Hill, plus forward Michael Bunting.
Tourigny led the Canadian Junior National Ice Hockey Team when it took home a gold medal at the 2020 IIHF World Under-20 Championship. Canada’s junior team secured a silver medal in 2021.
Tourigny originally got his start in coaching in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League as the head coach and general manager of the Rouyn- Noranda Huskies from 2002-13. He was named the QMJHL Coach of the Year in 2005-06.
In 2013, Tourigny headed to the NHL, accepting an assistant coaching job with the Colorado Avalanche. He would eventually resign in 2015 before becoming an assistant coach for the Ottawa Senators. He was fired a year later.
Tourigny returned to the QMJHL in 2016, taking over head coaching duties for the Halifax Mooseheads.
His stint with the Mooseheads would last just one season, with Tourigny joining the Ottawa 67’s (Ontario Hockey League) as the team’s head coach and VP of hockey operations in 2017.
With Ottawa, Tourigny captured back-to-back OHL Coach of the Year honors in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons to go along with two division titles.
In 2018, Tourigny was named the head coach of the Canadian Under-18 National Team for the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, where it took home gold.
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Jay Pandolfo leaving Bruins to be associate head coach at Boston University, report says
By Matt Porter Globe Staff,Updated June 30, 2021, 10:03 p.m.
Bruins assistant coach Jay Pandolfo is reportedly leaving Bruce Cassidy’s staff to be associate head coach at his alma mater, Boston University.
New England Hockey Journal reported that BU head coach Albie O’Connell informed the team Wednesday.
It would be the first associate head coaching position for Pandolfo, 46. He spent the last five years as a Bruins assistant. He joined Claude Julien’s staff along with Cassidy in May 2016, after spending two seasons with the Bruins’ player development department. He was director of player development in 2015-16.
New York Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello, who as New Jersey GM drafted Pandolfo out of BU in 1993, said he could not confirm the news. “But if it’s true, you know my comments,” Lamoriello told the Globe. “It’s well deserved, and he’ll be great at it.”
It’s unclear where the Bruins would turn to fill the empty spot. One possible option: Providence coach Jay Leach, the head coach there since 2017. According to a report from longtime Arizona Coyotes reporter Craig Morgan, Leach recently interviewed for the vacant Arizona head coaching gig.
In an interview before the Bruins’ second-round series against the Islanders, Cassidy said Pandolfo “predominantly works with the forwards, he does a lot of our [offensive] zone stuff, spacing, how to attack their D, what areas of the ice … where you can get some different looks, where the team’s the most vulnerable,” Cassidy said. “Me and him work on the power play together, our entries, O-zone, how teams kill, push down pressure versus D pushing up. That’s where he makes his mark with our team.”
Cassidy said Pandolfo, as the youngest coach on the staff and most recently retired player (2014), was a valuable resource.
“That benefits us with his relationship with the players,” Cassidy said. “We can go to him with those things, when players don’t quite look right he’s able to go to their ear. He’s a Stanley Cup champion, so for that on the staff that’s invaluable insight in these playoff series. That’s what we lean on him mostly for. Great guy.
“And as for head coaching, you never know till you try ... If that’s the path he wants to choose he should pursue it and I think he’d do great.”
Pandolfo, who lives in Winchester, starred at Burlington High and b was part of the 1995 national championship BU team. As a senior in 1995-96, he was captain, scored 67 points in 40 games, and was a Hobey Baker Award finalist.
Known for his checking and defensive acumen during his pro career, Pandolfo played 13 of his 15 NHL seasons with New Jersey, winning Stanley Cups in 2000 and 2003. He spent one year with the Islanders before finishing his career with the Bruins in 2013.
The left wing was a second-round pick (32nd overall) of the Devils in 1993. In 899 NHL games, he recorded 100 goals and 226 points.
O’Connell, 45, has been his alma mater’s head coach the last three years. The former associate head coach earned the promotion after David Quinn left for the New York Rangers. O’Connell, a freshman while Pandolfo was a senior, is 39-36-13 behind the bench.
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Young Bruin Trent Frederic looks to the future — but where will that be?
By Matt Porter Globe Staff, Updated June 30, 2021, 6:40 p.m.
Trent Frederic is still a young NHLer, as evidenced by his résumé and current location. When he spoke to reporters over Zoom Wednesday, he was in his bedroom at his parents’ house in St. Louis, where he spends his offseasons. He has yet to put down roots in Boston.
The 23-year-old forward, who last week signed a two-year deal worth $1.05 million annually, has to get through the next month before he knows whether he will return as a Bruin. General manager Don Sweeney, who drafted Frederic 29th overall in 2016, could leave him exposed in the expansion draft when he submits his protected list to Seattle July 17. When the Kraken make their picks four days later, Frederic’s rugged bottom-six game could be an attractive add.
But Frederic, 6 feet 2 inches and 203 pounds, has some growing to do before he takes up permanent residence on an NHL roster.
After three years trying to earn a spot as a regular, he has yet to play in a playoff game. In the last two seasons, he got sick at the wrong time.
Frederic, who contracted COVID back home before last summer’s training camp, missed a few days upon return and did not crack Bruce Cassidy’s lineup in the Toronto bubble. Frederic’s promising start to 2021 did not lead to a playoff debut, even though the Bruins faced heavy opponents in the Capitals and Islanders. Blame the dreaded “rookie wall,” and another illness, for that.
Frederic played in the Bruins’ first 36 games, skating left wing on the third and fourth lines and bringing an agitating element. His offense flourished during a stretch in late February and March in which he scored all four of his goals (three of which were game-winners). His only assist of the year, Jan. 23 against Philadelphia, was a slick feed from the wing to Charlie Coyle.
But come late March, Cassidy felt the rookie’s game was tailing off. Ice time told part of the story. Frederic, who logged 12-15 minutes regularly in the first half of the shortened season, saw his TOI dwindle from mid- March onward.
To make matters worse, he contracted what the Bruins at the time called a non-COVID illness. He missed all 11 games from April 8-27.
Asked about the nature of the illness, he said, “I don’t know exactly. I had a fever. I think it was lower 100s for a couple days, so we don’t really know exactly what it was, but it wasn’t COVID. It was worse than when I had COVID, to be honest. But I know some people had COVID worse than others.”
When he returned, he was scratched for three of the Bruins’ final nine games, and was a Black Ace in the postseason.
Healthy now, Frederic wants to return to Bruins camp with improved puck-handling and playmaking confidence. The stickhandling and shooting range in the basement at Gaye and Bob Frederic’s house should help. He also trains with ex-Bruins farmhand Jeff Lovecchio, hoping to turn a self-described “bigger person with bigger feet” into a skater with a quicker first step.
“I think it was a good year,” he said in review of 2021. “I think I came out hot. I’m sure there’s points where I wasn’t as good of a player as I wanted to be and there’s times where I played well. I thought overall it was a good season. It was a bummer we came up short.
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Bruins’ Brad Marchand named to NHL’s First All-Star Team for second time
By Matt Pepin Globe Staff,Updated June 30, 2021, 8:16 a.m.
Bruins left wing Brad Marchand was named to the NHL’s First All-Star Team for the second time, the league announced Tuesday during its annual awards ceremony, which was held online for the second straight season because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Marchand, who was third in the NHL in points this season with 69, was joined on the first team by Edmonton’s Connor McDavid at center, Toronto’s Mitchell Marner at right wing, Adam Fox of the New York Rangers and Colorado’s Cale Makar on defense, and Tampa Bay goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Marchand also was named to the first team in the 2016-17 season, and was on the second team in both the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons. He finished fifth in voting for the league MVP award after a 29-goal season that ended with a loss to the Islanders in the second round of the playoffs.
Members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association voted for the NHL’s all-star teams after the conclusion of the regular season. Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy was fifth in voting for the Norris Trophy given to the NHL’s top defenseman.
The Second All-Star Team had Toronto’s Auston Matthews at center, Florida’s Jonathan Huberdeau at left wing and Colorado’s Mikko Rantanen at right wing, with Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman and Carolina’s Dougie Hamilton on defense and Las Vegas’s Marc-Andre Fleury in goal.
Hamilton played for the Bruins from 2012-15.
Boston Globe LOADED: 07.01.2021 1190079 Boston Bruins York Rangers. The B’s most recent ECHL affiliation was with the Atlanta Gladiators.
“The Bruins and Maine Mariners have a long player development history, Trent Frederic looking to build on his first full season with Bruins as well as having a passionate fan base in Portland and throughout the Pugnacious forward wants to work on skating, hands state of Maine,” said Bruins GM Don Sweeney, who began his pro career with the Maine Mariners when the team was a part of the American Hockey League. “We are looking forward to building a strong working relationship with Comcast Spectacor, (team president) Daniel Briere, and By STEVE CONROY | PUBLISHED: June 30, 2021 at 4:31 p.m. | the coaching staff of the Mariners.” UPDATED: June 30, 2021 at 9:33 p.m. Three Boston teams have minor league affiliates based in Portland with
the Sea Dogs (Red Sox), the Maine Celtics and now the Mariners. Trent Frederic’s rookie NHL season started out with much promise, “We are extremely excited to be affiliated with the Bruins organization especially for old school fans who loved his rough-and-tumble style of and we’re proud to solidify the Boston-Portland connection with all three play reminiscent of so many Bruins of the past. of Maine’s professional sports franchises,” said Briere. “We can’t wait to But somewhere along the way, it seemed Frederic and that promise ran bring live hockey action back to Portland this fall, and we know that smack into some sort of rookie wall that has afflicted many first-year Mariners fans will be thrilled to watch players from the Bruins players before him. organization playing right here in Maine.”
Still, Frederic, who signed a new two-year deal worth $1.02 million Boston Herald LOADED: 07.01.2021 annually last week, believes there were things to build upon.
“I think it was a good year. I think I came out hot. I’m sure there’s points where I wasn’t as good of a player as I wanted to be and there’s times where I played well. I thought overall it was a good season,” said Frederic on Wednesday. “It was a bummer we came up short, but overall, it was a good season. What I need to work on is probably just my skating, more confidence with the puck. Making that right play with confidence, I guess.”
Frederic became an early fan favorite with his brash trash talk and his willingness to go toe-to-toe with the likes of Washington’s Tom Wilson.
But in the end, fewer and fewer teams were willing to engage physically with Frederic and the required level of production was not enough to keep him in the lineup, especially after an illness knocked him out of the lineup. During that time, the B’s acquired Taylor Hall and Curtis Lazar, creating a personnel logjam that kept him out of the playoffs. He finished with just four goals an assists, a minus-8 rating and 65 penalty minutes in 42 games.
Frederic’s potential is not yet clear. He could be an effective fourth liner or, if he can continue to work on his shot and skating, perhaps he could bump up to a third line role.
He looks at this past year as “getting his feet wet.”
“I think this was just the beginning for my hockey career, and I think I have a lot more to offer,” said Frederic. “Obviously, I was disappointed that we didn’t make it and that we’re not playing right now. Obviously, I wanted to help out as well. But everything happens for a reason and sometimes it’s out of your control and you just have to keep working hard and work for the next day.”
Frederic had contracted COVID during the layoff between the 2019-20 regular season and the bubble playoffs and he did not suffer severe symptoms. The illness he had during the season in April was not COVID, but he wasn’t sure what he had.
“I don’t know exactly. I had a fever. I think it was lower 100s for a couple days, so we don’t really know exactly what it was, but it wasn’t COVID. It was worse than when I had COVID, to be honest. But I know some people had COVID worse than others,” said Frederic.
Jay Pandolfo appears headed to alma mater
A source confirmed “the hiring process is underway” for Bruins’ assistant Jay Pandolfo to join Albie O’Connell’s Boston University coaching staff.
The New England Hockey Journal first reported that Pandolfo, who has been an assistant with the Bruins for five seasons and was a four-year Terrier from 1992-96 before embarking on an 18-year pro playing career, would join O’Connell’s staff as an associate head coach. Paul Pearl recently left the BU staff.
Now, it appears the B’s will need to fill an opening. Providence Bruins coach Jay Leach is highly regarded and could be a possibility.
Bruins renew ties to Maine Mariners
The Bruins officially announced that their new ECHL affiliation will be the Maine Mariners, who had most recently been connected with the New 1190080 Boston Bruins
After rookie season, Trent Frederic says 'I have a lot more to offer'
BY NICK GOSS
The Boston Bruins recently signed forward Trent Frederic to a two-year contract extension, and after a difficult rookie season, he's motivated to show more during the 2021-22 NHL campaign.
"I think this was just the beginning for my hockey career, and I think I have a lot more to offer," Frederic said Wednesday on a Zoom call with reporters when asked about last season.
"Obviously, I was disappointed that we didn't make it and that we're not playing right now. Obviously, I wanted to help out as well. But everything happens for a reason and sometimes it's out of your control and you just have to keep working hard and work for the next day."
Illness prevented Frederic from playing a full first season at the NHL level. He played 42 games for the Bruins during the regular season, tallying four goals and one assist. He did not make an appearance in any of the team's 11 Stanley Cup playoff games, even though the fourth line struggled during the second-round series versus the New York Islanders.
Frederic was a first-round pick of the Bruins in 2016 -- the same draft where they took defenseman Charlie McAvoy at No. 14 overall. The B's took Federic a little higher than he was projected to be drafted, and in the last five years, he hasn't made the kind of on-ice impacted expected of a first-round selection.
Report: Bruins 'believed to have interest' in Garland, Ekman-Larsson
One of the Bruins' primary weaknesses over the last several seasons has been a lack of scoring depth. One of the ways Frederic can make a profound impact on next year's Bruins squad is giving the bottom-six forward group the boost of scoring it desperately needs.
Frederic has the right attitude, though. He wants a larger role and is willing to work for it.
"That's what I'm striving towards. I've got a lot of work to become that," he said. "I think I have the ability to become it and I think I will, but obviously, I have some work to do for that."
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Boston Bruins Frederic Admits He Has “A Lot More To Offer”
By Joe Haggerty
Things didn’t end as well as they started for Boston Bruins rookie power forward Trent Frederic, but he’s excited at the possibilities moving forward.
The 23-year-old Frederic finished with four goals and five points along with 65 penalty minutes and a minus-8 in 42 games during his first full season at the NHL level, and got Bruins fans excited when he dropped the gloves and held his own with Washington tough guy Tom Wilson among others.
But then the strapping, physical Frederic was a healthy scratch in the playoffs after playing sparingly down the stretch. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound Frederic had trouble shaking a non-COVID illness that kept him out for an extended period of time and played just six games after the Bruins traded for fourth line center Curtis Lazar at the NHL trade deadline.
Even when Lazar got hurt and Jake DeBrusk was scratched in the Stanley Cup playoffs, it was Karson Kuhlman that had his name called for postseason duty rather than a guy in Frederic that could have been a physical presence in the playoffs.
All of that led Frederic to admit that he has “a lot more to offer” moving forward for the Black and Gold after signing a two-year contract last weekend with a cap hit of $1.05 million.
“For sure, [this season was] getting my feet wet. I think this was just the beginning for my hockey career, and I think I have a lot more to offer. Obviously, I was disappointed that we didn’t make it and that we’re not playing right now,” said Frederic. “Obviously, I wanted to help out as well. But everything happens for a reason and sometimes it’s out of your control and you just have to keep working hard and work for the next day.
I think it was a good year. I think I came out hot. I’m sure there’s points where I wasn’t as good of a player as I wanted to be and there’s times where I played well. I thought overall it was a good season. It was a bummer we came up short, but overall, it was a good season. What I need to work on is probably just my skating, more confidence with the puck. Making that right play with confidence, I guess.”
The skating is a big component for Frederic as he’ll need to generate more speed to land more heavy hits on the forecheck that should become part of his bread and butter.
Frederic will need to get through the NHL expansion draft next month where there’s a pretty decent chance he’ll go unprotected, but the expectation among Bruins sources is it will be a Boston defenseman taken by the Seattle Kraken rather than a bottom-6 guy like Frederic.
Either way, Frederic should be even more of an identity player for the Boston Bruins next season and beyond as he settles into a heavy, physical role that will continue to make him a fan favorite with the Black and Gold.
Boston Hockey Now LOADED: 07.01.2021 1190082 Buffalo Sabres
Don Granato's 'Donnie Meatballs' nickname picks up steam, sparks invite to judge Street Brawl
Ben Tsujimoto Jun 30, 2021
With the interim tag removed from his head coaching title with the Buffalo Sabres, Don Granato can also further embrace his nickname.
"Donnie Meatballs," a playful moniker that has picked up steam on Twitter shortly after he was named interim coach in March, has been embraced by Granato and the Sabres' video team, with the coach's welcome video on Twitter featuring a plate of spaghetti and meatballs faded in the background.