LAKings.com feature: Ice Chirps

So, what exactly is said on the ice between opponents during an NHL game? Does it get highly personal, or is it in-game related? Which players around the league are most effective in getting other players off their game? Do the Kings participate in any trash talking? Which teams are more inclined to yap?

In addition to Darryl Sutter, I consulted with three players: Drew Doughty, Jordan Nolan and Kyle Clifford. Though there is a range in the amount of chirping they engage in, the players confirmed what we already figured to be true. Yes, there is plenty of on-ice talking, and yes, the Kings do engage in it from time to time.

“If you’re not playing too much, it’s a way to get yourself involved in the game. You feel more into it,” Jordan Nolan said. “It’s a little more enjoyable, and it kind of gets you going a bit. So chirping once in a while is always a good time.”

And while Nolan is involved in his share of post-whistle scrums, Doughty, the team’s top minutes eater, determines that he talks “quite a bit.”

“I’d say pretty much every shift, at least,” he said. “You just develop things over the years playing against guys so often that you get mad at them or whatever, and you’re going to chirp ‘em. Sometimes they’re deep, deep chirps, where maybe you shouldn’t have said ‘em, and then there’s sometimes where it’s just joking around chirps. But there’s a lot of it.”

LAKings.com: Ice Chirps

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Winter’s Spell
Culture Shift
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Loosened Reign
Halfway There
Robyn’s Flight
Net Gains
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Darryl Sutter: Playing Hardball
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Another Go
Dining Out with Willie Mitchell
Kings of CHLA
West is Best
Their Words
Numbers Aside
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Talk About It
Padded Down
Little Time for Rest
Make Them Better
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Will to Win
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In Their Eyes
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Scuderi’s Actions Speak
Brown’s Model a Path for Doughty