Frossard shined in the offensive zone and on the powerplay in this game. He was constantly showing confidence and the ability to walk the line, evade a forward trying to close him down, and find a shooting or passing lane to get a puck through. Eric was asserting himself in the offensive zone, acting as one of the focal points of the Knights' powerplay. He didn't hesitate to rotate down the wall or try to penetrate the slot area to access better shooting positions. Outside of the offensive zone, I thought Frossard did a stellar job managing the puck on breakouts, typically finding the right path to a controlled zone exit and rarely conceding possession in his end.

I've already mentioned it in my Alliance All-Star writeup, but the Malrboros Tournament is when I started to become fonder and fonder of Frossard. He was always on my radar, but I began to see the top-end potential in his game over the Holiday Classic. So much of what impressed me was how Eric wanted to play with the puck on his stick. Regardless of the situation, he was looking to play with control. Whether it was in his defensive zone to secure a breakout or within the offensive zone to find a passing option, almost everything was with control. If he was pressured, he was calm and confident to combine his puck skills and lateral mobility to dodge the forechecker and then continue on his path with control, never crumbling to pressure and conceding possession. Simply put, his playstyle is exactly what I'm looking for in defenders. When you add that it is so evident his game will only get better as he matures and his mechanics become more refined; the potential is limitless.

I recently wrote about how I was fascinated by Frossard, and his performance in the All-Star Game only further elevated my assessment of his game. What I’ve come to appreciate most about Eric is how he plays the game. He’s always looking to move the puck up ice with control and seeking paths to put the puck into the dangerous parts of the ice. Especially when he’s controlling the puck at the point, Eric was constantly trying to shake oncoming pressure and open up a prime shooting lane or buy space to find a dangerous pass. Similarly, Frossard was never panicked by pressure in the neutral zone and routinely showed confidence to evade forecheckers and then find a passing outlet. I’ll have a more in-depth assessment of Eric in my Marlboros Holiday Classic reports. Still, all is to say, the Alliance All-Star Game was another positive viewing of Frossard after a successful showing over the holidays.

Frossard jumped right off the page with his height of 6'3. Typically, with players of his size who may have recently hit a growth spurt, the skating mechanics are still coming together, but I felt Frossard was relatively refined in his skating. He has a long, powerful stride, and I came away thinking that, given his mechanics, his skating will continue improving. Frossard's style of play was what really landed him as a standout, as he was constantly involved when he was on the ice. With the puck, he was confident and didn't shy away from evading oncoming pressure and ensuring a play with control was made. Without the puck, Eric was aggressive in applying pressure, especially on pinch sequences, suffocating his opponent's time and space and securing possession for his team. Eric notched a powerplay goal over the London games I watched, ripping a one-timer past the netminder.