Frederic could make Oilers debut on current road trip: head coach

Boston Bruins' Trent Frederic during NHL action on Nov. 2, 2024, in Philadelphia. (Matt Slocum/AP)

Trent Frederic could make his blue-and-orange debut during the Edmonton Oilers’ current road trip.

Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said the forward acquired from the Boston Bruins a month ago might play his first game for Edmonton on Monday against the Anaheim Ducks.

Frederic has been sidelined since Feb. 25, when the forward suffered a lower-body injury while playing for the Bruins in a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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Knoblauch said of the three Oilers forwards sidelined – Connor McDavid and Evander Kane are the others – 27-year-old Frederic “would be the first one returning.”

“Hopefully, he can play at some point in this road trip, maybe the last game,” Knoblauch told media in San Jose, Calif., where the Oilers face the host Sharks on Thursday. “The other guys aren’t going to be that soon.”

Superstar McDavid has been out of action since suffering what looked to be a lower-body injury vs. the Winnipeg Jets on Feb. 20. Kane hasn’t played this season after having surgeries to repair both abductors, two hernias, two abdominal tears and a knee.

Edmonton, which held on for a 3-2 win over the host Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday, sits seven points behind Vegas for first place in the NHL’s Pacific Division with eight games left on their regular-season schedule heading into Wednesday action.

After Thursday’s game in San Jose, Edmonton is slated to visit the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday before heading to Anaheim for Monday’s game.

Oilers sign two forwards

The Oilers announced Wednesday they have signed forwards David Tomasek to a one-year contract worth US$1.2 million and Josh Samanski to a two-year entry level contract.

The 29-year-old Tomasek played last season with Farjestad BK of the Swedish Elite League. The Czech led the circuit in scoring, leading the club to its first regular-season league title since 2018-19.

Samanski, 23, a German with Canadian citizenship, has spent the past four seasons in Germany’s elite league.