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Player Discussion Arber Xhekaj: The Sheriff

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He’s a favorite of mine on the team. He’s not great offensively or defensively. He’s just ok. But what he brings to the table is what the team lacks. When he’s on the ice, players like Suzuki, Caufield, Newhook plays bigger. He reminds me a lot of Ken Daneyko back in the day for New Jersey. Daneyko and Scott Stevens made Brian Rafalski, Scott Gomez player bigger.
 
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Tyson said:
Phenomenal interview!
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The bits at the end about Flo were eye opening. Arber said that Flo is currently at 205-210 vs his own 240lbs, but that it's obvious Flo has the longer limbs when they grapple.

Also said that Flo is the one with anger problems.

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The most important question concerning Xhekaj is what's his all time stats in fighting.

I always feel that's unbeaten in fighting. I don't wanna curse him tho. That's just my feeling lol.

His presence is so so so important to us. He knows how to fight to defend his teammates. And the most important thing is that he knows how play hockey.
 
Seb said:
I really hope Arber doesn't fight too much. I love his intensity but fighting is dumb and we need him to be healthy.
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Fighting is still a tactful part of the game like it or not and better to have some that are able and willing to do so.
 
ahmedou said:
The most important question concerning Xhekaj is what's his all time stats in fighting.

I always feel that's unbeaten in fighting. I don't wanna curse him tho. That's just my feeling lol.

His presence is so so so important to us. He knows how to fight to defend his teammates. And the most important thing is that he knows how play hockey.
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His record is quite good. I believe Deslauriers got the better of him, and Jeannot once, but otherwise unbeaten. He's won often enough and decisively enough to have earned a reputation. I'm glad he's on our side.

I do think that he is feared out there. He is mean. Opposition skaters don't like being close to him. On both sides of the puck. There were a couple instances of him leading the rush and dmen just backing all the way off.

The flip side is that he takes a ton of penalties, and that will have to be addressed if he is going to be a contributing member to a contending club.
 
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Help said:
His record is quite good. I believe Deslauriers got the better of him, and Jeannot once, but otherwise unbeaten. He's won often enough and decisively enough to have earned a reputation. I'm glad he's on our side.

I do think that he is feared out there. He is mean. Opposition skaters don't like being close to him. On both sides of the puck. There were a couple instances of him leading the rush and dmen just backing all the way off.

The flip side is that he takes a ton of penalties, and that will have to be addressed if he is going to be a contributing member to a contending club.
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I think the penalties were addressed after he was demoted to Laval. He said after he got the message. Its been handled.
 
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Junohockeyfan said:
I think the penalties were addressed after he was demoted to Laval. He said after he got the message. Its been handled.
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Now that you mention it, there was marked improvement in 2024 after his AHL stint. He was still among the top 20 most frequently penalized in the second half. Some of those are offsetting roughing calls, which is fine.

I think there is still room to improve on discipline, but perhaps he has a better grasp on it than I originally thought.
 
Help said:
Now that you mention it, there was marked improvement in 2024 after his AHL stint. He was still among the top 20 most frequently penalized in the second half. Some of those are offsetting roughing calls, which is fine.

I think there is still room to improve on discipline, but perhaps he has a better grasp on it than I originally thought.
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That comes with experience and maturity. I think Xhekaj realizes now that he doesn't have to hit everything in site or look for a fight. He can just play the game as it presents itself on the ice. And when the time comes to defend a teammate or to make a big hit, take it. But don't force it.

All young players struggles with this. For Xhekaj, it was a big issue the got him demoted. When he came back, he was a different player.
 
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