I watched the fight and X was throwing punches like crazy. Even VD said that Xhekaj was a puncher. The toughest fighters ever have all lost and X can get caught with a good shot. I like his chances against any heavyweight in the league.
He can definitely skate better than Souray.
I hate doing this, but I sort of see Lyle Odelein crossed with later career Hamrlik.
. Yeah, I know... Chara is a big dream
Interesting comparison but feel like no one can be Chara without being 6'9"... Don't think Arber getting any more rangy than 6'3"/6'4" lol. He had a specialized stick only allowed because of his height.My dream scenario is he turns into a Chara. Big body with a long reach and punishes you with physicality. Chips in on offense here and there and has good goal scoring power from the back end. Your dreams are not set high enough
Xhekaj's development as an undrafted player is an anomaly. Rare but it happens from time to time. There is no real weakness to his overall game IMO. And he just keeps proving doubters wrong... has done this for a few seasons now
Anderson is not a guy you want fighting, once in while to blow off steam but he's not a fighter. You're right about Chiarot, forgot about him. But you still don't want him fighting clowns like Reeves. Xhekaj is just a class level above in terms of brawling.
Xhekaj shouldn't fight clowns like Reaves either.
In his final year in the OHL, Xhekaj scored 6 goals with Kitchener , 6 goals with Hamilton after he was traded and 6 more goals in the playoffs that year. When you add that production to his 5 goals that he scored as a rookie in only 51 games, where he played limited minutes, you can see that this kid is more than your usual budding NHL enforcer. The fact that Xhekaj is now on the team's second power play, indicates that the coaches see and understand this kid's offensive potential. I suspect we will soon start seeing NHL scouts hanging around Costco more frequently now and it won't be for their tasty hot dogs.
Whether it sends a message or not to me is is irrelevant. If you're gonna hit and play physical then you're gonna have to fight. It sends more a message to our own players if anything at all that we got somebody who's got you're back. I'm not even concerned about the opposition. All I know is the Atlantic is loaded with guys that can fight and play dirty.
for now, he's already 2 Goals - 2 Assists - 1 Suspension in 3 games
In the case of last game vs Leafs, fighting Reeves was warranted 1000%.
If any goon takes a run at a star player like Guhle (and Arbers good buddy), that's exactly the time you want him to fight, IMO. It's the stupid faceoff joust to instigate where Arber should pick his spots.
He definitely needs to pick the fights carefully. I think going against Reeves was calculated and will pay off in the long term. He already has a noticable reputation in the league after a season and a game. He probably won't be fighting plugs who are one week call ups. He's invested a lot to earn the respect warranted for people not to take liberties on young players on the Habs, meaning half the team lol. Honestly tho, there are probably only like 3-4 guys in the league that are worth fighting that can stand up to xhekaj. The rest would crap their pants if he went into their vacinity
