St. Louisan Frederic of Bruins wins memorable fight in NHL debut

By Doug Alden
Published

BOSTON -- Trent Frederic, a native St. Louisan who played high school hockey at DeSmet Jesuit, made his mark quickly in his NHL debut for the Bruins with a fight that earned him a standing ovation from Boston fans.

Frederic, a first-round pick by the Bruins in 2016 who was playing on a line with boyhood idol David Backes, picked up his first career fighting major in the second period after a scrum in front of the Winnipeg net.

https://twitter.com/Bruins_GBos/status/1090424062772424704

Frederic, 20, and Brandon Tanev separated from the pack for a 1-on-1 bout that brought the crowd to its feet — including his parents, who were shown exchanging high-fives in the stands as Frederic headed to the locker room.

"I wasn't really going in trying to get one tonight, but it just happened," Frederic said.

https://twitter.com/NHLBruins/status/1090459150058958848

The fight occurred with 3:44 left in the second and less than a minute after Boston's Keven Miller and Adam Lowry exchanged a flurry of punches at the other end.

The Bruins posted a photo on Twitter of Frederic as a child posing with former Blues captain David Backes, his right wing on Boston's third line Tuesday night.

https://twitter.com/NHLBruins/status/1090375400738443265

The Bruins lost to the Jets 4-3 in a shootout.