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Player Discussion Arber Xhekaj: The Sheriff

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WeThreeKings said:
Nasty in front of the net.. which is really where it needs to be.

Big hits will happen when they are there but if you go chasing for hits, you will get victimized, the game is too fast.

That's where things have to be learned for Arber. Can't chase being physical, if you miss, or even chase too far, you have to come back to your net, and you'll be behind the play, which leads to stick infractions.. which is what has been his issue this year.
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And this is why you look at hanging onto a guy like Savard unless an impressive offer comes in. Xhekaj doesn't even have 2 years in the pro game and really it's about 4 years for D to develop. First question is are the tools there and 2nd is what's between the ears. I think the tools are there, now we see if he can learn and having good role models is part of that.
 
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schwang26 said:
Sorry. I disagree. Look at his hits. They steadily declined. Even his first year in Montreal, they were lower than Nashville for the most part. I don’t think he was any more physical than Savard or Edmunson. I’m not saying he wasn’t physical, I’m saying he wasn’t as physical (as a Hab) as he was made out to be
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He got beat by Sergachev, FFS.
 
yianik said:
And this is why you look at hanging onto a guy like Savard unless an impressive offer comes in. Xhekaj doesn't even have 2 years in the pro game and really it's about 4 years for D to develop. First question is are the tools there and 2nd is what's between the ears. I think the tools are there, now we see if he can learn and having good role models is part of that.
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He had a really good game last night - as much of the team did.

It might be a blessing in disguise for Xhekaj that Harris got hurt.. maybe the 'fear' of being swapped out for Harris is gone and he can just play his game.
 
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WeThreeKings said:
He had a really good game last night - as much of the team did.

It might be a blessing in disguise for Xhekaj that Harris got hurt.. maybe the 'fear' of being swapped out for Harris is gone and he can just play his game.
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Plus there’s also the combo of non drafted player who never spent time in AHL to mature / ripen along with sophomore slump (league adjusting to rookie tendencies) which happens to vast majority of 1st year NHLers
 
WeThreeKings said:
He had a really good game last night - as much of the team did.

It might be a blessing in disguise for Xhekaj that Harris got hurt.. maybe the 'fear' of being swapped out for Harris is gone and he can just play his game.
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You hate seeing a guy get injured, but as soon as I heard Harris would be out for a while I thought the same thing, that this was a chance for Xhekaj to get a decent amount of ice time.
 
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Guys like Reaves, Johnston, McDermid can be trusted for maybe 5-6 minutes of ice time...basically they are goons from a different era. Xhekaj on the other hand can actually play the game while bringing a similar level of toughness. Xhekaj is also very young and still developing.
 
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Tyson said:
Guys like Reaves, Johnston, McDermid can be trusted for maybe 5-6 minutes of ice time...basically they are goons from a different era. Xhekaj on the other hand can actually play the game while bringing a similar level of toughness. Xhekaj is also very young and still developing.
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That why you don’t trade him, you don’t scratch him and you let him be who he is.
 
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Hannibal said:
This team plays with so much more swag with Xhekaj in the lineup. The difference is huge.
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He needs to be a staple. Let the kids learn and grow together. I'd only be okay with sending him down one last time before the deadline for a PO run in Laval, because Im greedy and I wanna go see them a few times, lol. Right now, they're just out of a PO spot.

No more PP and start feeding him PK time instead of Guhle, he's valuable but inherently less than KG.
 
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Johnston would have went on a rampage if Arbs never at least settled him down early in the game. That's a big boy Arbs was entangled with, even if it was a draw.
 
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He is scoring goals like Sheldon Souray back in the day. I don’t remember a dman scoring like him from the blueline
 
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Shutdown said:
i'm assuming Xhekaj will be a healthy scratch tonight after last night's game?
according to so many posts in here from the past couple weeks, MSL hates Xhekaj's physical game because that's not the type of NHLer he was, and wants to neuter Arber.
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Wasn’t about being physical, it was about taking stupid penalties and taking himself out of position which led to goals against.
 
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WeThreeKings said:
Arpon did an article on The Athletic about Arber - and one thing is clear, the organization was emphatic with Arber that they see him as a part of the teams future.
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No doubt. But that emphatic response would vanish if some team offers an overpayment for this promising player. No player, or very few at least, is untouchable.
 
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