BLOG: Frederic & Jones excited to get started in Oil Country

EDMONTON, AB – “Dear lord,” muttered Max Jones as he walked through the facilities at Rogers Place for the first time.

The newly-acquired winger from the Boston Bruins stood at the entrance to the Oilers dressing room for a few extra seconds upon his arrival at Rogers Place on Thursday to process what he’d just seen, because he'll never have another ‘awe-inspiring’ moment like this one walking through a rink for the first time.

After coming to Edmonton as part of the package deal with Boston on Tuesday that sent himself, Trent Frederic and the rights to forward Petr Hauser to the Oilers in a three-team trade that involved the Bruins and Devils, Jones already can’t wait to be a part of the action in Oil Country and give everything for their push to get back to the Stanley Cup Final this season with the help of his physical approach to the game.

“This facility here is unbelievable,” he said in his morning media availability. “I think it's testament to the city and the fans and the culture here, so I'm just honored to really be a part of it, learn from these guys and do what I can to help."

"It's been a crazy 24 hours, a crazy season, but it's just hockey, so I'm excited to play here in a great city that loves their team."

The Oilers gave up a second-round pick in 2025 and a fourth-round selection in 2026 to the Bruins, along with the rights to prospect Shane LaChance to the Devils, so they could add Jones and Frederic to their lineup for what they hope will be another long playoff run like last season – made even more possible by the physical and hard-nosed edge that both of them play with.

Jones will get the first opportunity to make an impact when he makes his Oilers debut on the fourth line with Kasperi Kapanen and Corey Perry against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night.

Knowing how Jones operates from experience playing with one another, Frederic hyped up his teammate and the physical game he brings to the table, saying he'd be ready to give everything for his new team as soon as he stepped into the dressing room.

You could tell by the look on Jones' face that he meant it.

"Jones is a hard working player. He's a great guy. I've played with him actually in years past," Frederic said. "I know he's going to bring good energy and probably with similar-type players. He's going to finish his hits and he's going to play hard and be a good teammate."

Forward Trent Frederic will have to wait to make his debut because of an ankle injury that’ll keep him out week to week to begin his Oilers tenure, but the physical-minded and versatile forward was ecstatic to learn that his destination would be Edmonton after he’d been traded from the Bruins alongside Jones on Tuesday.

Especially his older brother, who thinks Trent's best chances at winning a Stanley Cup reside in Edmonton.

"He thinks this will give me the best chance of getting the big dream," he said. "He watches a lot of hockey and obviously, this is a team a lot of people like to watch. It's exciting. I know when they're on TV that it's a good game to tune into.

Both recently-arrived forwards are excited to see what the hockey culture of Edmonton has to offer them, having seen first-hand as opposing players and from a distance during the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs just how this city and its team can bring the energy.

“A little mixed emotions about leaving Boston, but I was really excited that it was Edmonton and that I think this team and this group has a good chance of making a run at it,” he said.

“I would say just coming here, playing here and the atmosphere, I feel like this is a hockey culture and all the guys have been great reaching out, so it seems like a really good group. Just for the little time I've had so far, and obviously playing with superstars, I think that’ll be very cool.”

Frederic says the Oilers have been very welcoming since his arrival, including a funny text from veteran Corey Perry bringing up their bout earlier this season when both dropped the gloves against one another during Edmonton’s 4-0 win back on Jan. 7 in Boston.

The 27-year-old Frederic is pumped that he now gets to call Perry a teammate after watching a lot of his highlights when he was a young player growing up in St. Louis during the 2010s.

“I was actually talking about him a couple weeks ago with my brother and how amazing it is that he can bring it, how long he's brought it and how he's evolved from the player he was X amount of years ago,” he said. “I watched him as a kid and now, it’s pretty amazing.”

Frederic is taking a day-to-day approach to his recovery from an ankle injury he sustained from receiving a hit on Feb. 25 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, hoping to get back on the ice soon and begin skating ahead of making an impact down the stretch and into playoffs with the Oilers.

After scoring 17 and 18 goals in his past two seasons with the Bruins, eclipsing 40 points over all 82 games in 2023-24, Frederic had notched eight goals and 15 points in 57 games this year prior to his injury. He plays a physical two-way game that the Oilers are excited to add to their lineup when he’s healthy.

“This year hasn't been the greatest offensive season of my life, but I think I can bring more,” he said. “I know I have a good shot. I believe I can beat goalies in certain situations and just get to the net. I feel like a lot of offence is instinctual and just playing off that. I think if I can just like any hockey player, when you get confidence, stuff starts to go in and just I just want to find that early.”

As for where he can fit in the lineup, Frederic feels comfortable anywhere after developing a ‘jack of all trades’ identity in Boston as a forward who could play a fourth-line checking role or an offensive option in the top six – potentially on the wing of a guy like Leon Draisaitl.

“I was just actually having this conversation, but I made a joke then about ‘Freddie Fill-In’,” he said. “So I play left, right and centre. Wherever they need me, I'll try to play. It's changed over the years of what I'm comfortable with now. I've played so many different positions the last couple years, I don't even know what I prefer anymore, so I just prefer playing with good guys and good players, and that's all that matters.”