Trash talking is a part of hockey, but it’s certainly not every players forte.
Trent Frederic has slid into the role of enforcer/trash talker for the Boston Bruins this season, and has shown he’s not afraid to run his mouth whether he’s provoked or not.
For Brady Lyle, though, he takes a bit of a different route.
Lyle, who just signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the Bruins on April 19, has been playing with the Providence Bruins this season. He’s appeared in 20 games and has racked up 12 points. Before that, he played six games for Detva HC in the Slovak Tipsport Liga, which is the top league in Slovakia.
The 21-year-old joined the NESN Bruins Podcast on Wednesday to talk about his time in Slovakia, and how one player he was going up against started chirping him.
“… Even in Slovakia, I remember one of my first games there was this big Slovakian guy who I’m battling with in front of the net, and he’s missing teeth and smiling at me and chirping me in front of the net,” he said. “He’s talking to me in his thick accent and I was like, ‘this is actually what he’s doing.’ He’s a hockey player and he probably has a whole family at home, a couple kids. …”
So, does Lyle chirp back?
“A little bit,” he said. “I’m a bit of a trash talker, but it has to be something that — it has to be part of the game. If someone’s kind of really pushing the wrong way I’ll be pretty upset. I can be hard on some guys.”
It sounds like he won’t take the Frederic approach, but Lyle knows the young forward is “pretty good at it.”
“I actually don’t know Freddy but I’ve hear some pretty funny stories,” Lyle said. “He’s obviously pretty good at it.”
We’ll see if his approach changes over time. But regardless, Lyle isn’t afraid to chirp back when chirped.
Listen to the full episode below:
