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Player Discussion Arber Xhekaj: The Sheriff

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Andrei79 said:
I think having both Guhle and Xhekaj makes Struble redundant. A bit like Romanov two years ago. He could be part of a package of quantity for quality, or another one to get rid of anchor contracts like Gallagher, though theres no rush there. That is, unless they're worried about Guhles health long term or that Hutsons game wont translate in the NHL. Personally, I would keep Guhle and Xhekaj, even knowing that Struble is probably going to have a very good career. Could carve his path as an excellent shutdown guy who has skill.
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I think the order of movement out of the organization is going to be:

  • Kovacevic
  • Savard
  • Harris
  • Matheson
  • Struble
  • Barron
I don't see a long term future for all of those guys here.. the only way Struble or Barron stick is if Hutson & Engstrom fail, and Mailloux fails on the right side.
 
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WeThreeKings said:
Can't believe the AHL stint didn't ruin him and wow Marty surely plays him a lot lately, must be a punishment because he hates him so much.
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It was interesting listening to the Sportsnet broadcast talking about undrafted players and where Marty ranks all time. Made me think about all the posts where people thought he hated Xhekaj, if anyone is going to respect him it’s St Louis.

But Marty knows how hard you need to work to prove the doubters and probably saw some stuff he didn’t like and just wanted to set him up for success.
 
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Gally11 said:
It was interesting listening to the Sportsnet broadcast talking about undrafted players and where Marty ranks all time. Made me think about all the posts where people thought he hated Xhekaj, if anyone is going to respect him it’s St Louis.

But Marty knows how hard you need to work to prove the doubters and probably saw some stuff he didn’t like and just wanted to set him up for success.
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The whole Xhekaj thing got totally overblown go figure.
Was playing shit had to be knocked down a notch as young players sometimes do.
Worked his ass off and will no longer take anything for granted.
There is not a chance in hell Marty doesn't like the guy.
It's probably the opposite and he expected/expects more than taking dumb penalties.
The kid has a huge target on him and he's learning how to deal with it.
 
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I am really proud of Arber tonight. Kept his cool. could have had 5 fights but DID NOT only 1 fight. Before his AHL stint he would have had 5 fights. He still played like a MAN tonight, defended his mates and put some fear into some. don't f--k with my guys or you will answer to ME. the bolts tried over and over to goad him into an overeaction. He kept his head and stayed just a inch this side of bad. never trade him.
 
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Tyson said:
Out of 31 teams for 2 straight drafts of seven rounds, about 450 drafted players not one team saw a smidgen of potential in this kid? Bergevin was an absolute turd but I commend him for signing this kid.
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Credit to MB and TT, but a lot of credit goes to former scout Matt Turek, who was interim GM for the Hamilton Bulldogs and even though at the time Xhekaj was with Kitchener, he's a Hamilton native and he'd skate there in the off-season, and Turek got to know him over the years. He pushd for Habs to sign him.

Arber said that the Panthers also approached him to invite him to their camp. Xhekaj preferred to accept Habs' invitation.

His game has taken another step. He's able to better manage his game between when to get nasty and when to focus on the game.
 
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Tyson said:
Out of 31 teams for 2 straight drafts of seven rounds, about 450 drafted players not one team saw a smidgen of potential in this kid? Bergevin was an absolute turd but I commend him for signing this kid.
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I have Kitchener Rangers season tickets. I’ll try to make a long story short.

He was never drafted by an OHL team and as a 17 year old made the team as a free agent invite to camp. He played but very sparingly that season. 3 points in 59 games sparingly. He was was the #6 defenceman all year.

In his 18 year old season he improved a whole lot. The problem is we Kitchener brought over two import defenceman who were drafted in to the NHL and already had two more NHL drafted defencemen. His play throughout the year improved drastically.

Going into his 19 year old season I was pretty certain that some NHL team would draft him. He was going to get a lot of ice time that season and he would finally be able to showcase himself better. Habs signed him this season.

Going into his overager season he was a man on a mission. Big, physical, most feared fighter in the OHL. He was traded to Hamilton and went on to win a Memorial Cup.
 
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Rapala said:
The whole Xhekaj thing got totally overblown go figure.
Was playing shit had to be knocked down a notch as young players sometimes do.
Worked his ass off and will no longer take anything for granted.
There is not a chance in hell Marty doesn't like the guy.
It's probably the opposite and he expected/expects more than taking dumb penalties.
The kid has a huge target on him and he's learning how to deal with it.
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Yeah I think a lot of people have PTSD from last 15 years lol
 
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Kimota said:
X-Man was just phenomenal tonight. I always wanted to be this way, like go all out and be intimindating and mean. Get into people's faces and they are gonna hate it.
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It seems like it comes so naturally to him too. Xhekaj looks like he enjoys it. It isn't like a lot of the bigger guys this team has had. Anderson and Weber are huge and intimidating, but I never felt violence was a life goal for them like it is for Arber.
 
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Just a reminder that Habs have another Xhekaj in the system, who is also 6'4" and now weighs 190 lbs. Also has a nasty streak and is now showing offence.

He'll probably never be as big as Arber, but he will also get to over 200 lbs.

One headache in the back. Another headache in the front.
 
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Adam Michaels said:
Just a reminder that Habs have another Xhekaj in the system, who is also 6'4" and now weighs 190 lbs. Also has a nasty streak and is now showing offence.

He'll probably never be as big as Arber, but he will also get to over 200 lbs.

One headache in the back. Another headache in the front.
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Plus, as anybody with a brother surely already knows, I can fight with my brother as much as I want. But if YOU mess with my brother, you better watch your back...
 
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The last brother duo the Habs had, (with the intentions of being a big part of the future), were the kostitsyns.

The xhekajs obviously are alot different. Arber looks like he's made it. If Florian makes it, it's quite a contrast from the last meaningful brother duo.
 
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