Player Discussion Arber Xhekaj: The Sheriff

[Tyson]

He does and he has skill to. Wait until Florian gets to 210-220lbs. He will be an animal. He wasn't an off the board pick, he has legit NHL upside.

Another Xhekaj who flew under the radar.

 

[The Real Timo]

Canadiens : Arber Xhekaj a tourné le dos à Toronto pour le CH | RDS

« Toronto m’a appelé, la Floride m’a appelé », a révélé le défenseur.

www.rds.ca

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

Interesting that Xhekaj said that Toronto, Florida, and Montreal were among the teams who wanted him to come to their camp, but he chose Montreal because the habs had Chiarot, Weber, Petry, and Edmundson, so he knew they liked those kinds of strong big dmen

 

[Rapala]

Canadiens : Arber Xhekaj a tourné le dos à Toronto pour le CH | RDS

« Toronto m’a appelé, la Floride m’a appelé », a révélé le défenseur.

www.rds.ca

Arber to his Agent...

 

[Guess]

Interesting article on Xhekaj that talks about him learning about better stick positioning and gap control by watching videos and talking with Adam Nicholas over the summer. Exactly what he needed to be working on! Hopefully all of our prospects are getting great feedback like this.

Interview: Here

 

[Guess]

Interesting that Xhekaj said that Toronto, Florida, and Montreal were among the teams who wanted him to come to their camp, but he chose Montreal because the habs had Chiarot, Weber, Petry, and Edmundson, so he knew they liked those kinds of strong big dmen

Thank you Berge.

 

[Tyson]

Arber talking about his little brother-


«Ça faisait un bail que je n’avais pu partager la glace avec lui, a-t-il confié. J’en suis ressorti surpris: "Wow, ça, c’est un joueur de hockey!" Il est fort, il est rapide. Son tir des poignets est incroyable.

«Je pense qu’il va faire tourner les têtes au camp d’entraînement.»

 

[ahmedou]

There's a story between Xhekaj and a TVA Sports journalist. They did an interview together. But the TVA Sports journalist forgot to save the interview. The TVA Sports journalist thought he'll get his ass kicked by Xhekaj. But Xhekaj accepted to do again the interview without beating the ass of the TVA Sports journalist.

 

[rickthegoon]

There's a story between Xhekaj and a TVA Sports journalist. They did an interview together. But the TVA Sports journalist forgot to save the interview. The TVA Sports journalist thought he'll get his ass kicked by Xhekaj. But Xhekaj accepted to do again the interview without beating the ass of the TVA Sports journalist.

If the TVA journalist was Réno Lavoie; he should have kicked his ass

 

[Rapala]

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.

Hearing him talk about his experiences it's easy to see why he felt he had to go at every opportunity.
The interesting factor for me is he's obviously skilled as his post season run in Hamilton proved.
I loved it when he brought up playing forward and having to improve his individual skills.
People don't like to talk about converting Dmen but there is a way to keep this guy and free up our LD if need be.
Honestly I'd rather do that than lose him or even use him as a seven.

 

[NewDef]

Imagine playing a 4th line of Arber-Beck-Florian... the take no shit line. Ooof... Beck has show he can be hard nosed, not a fighter but with these 2 he won't have to.

I don't need 20 goals from Arber as long as he's defensively sound and contribute for his line mates. Beck and Florian can be the scorers but i'm not selling short Arber as he may well surprise us once again.

 

[MTL Dirty Birdy]

He does and he has skill to. Wait until Florian gets to 210-220lbs. He will be an animal. He wasn't an off the board pick, he has legit NHL upside.

According to Arber Florian has hit 210 this summer. Gonna be a helluva bottom six beast for us. He’s gonna be everything Pezzetta tries to be

Imagine playing a 4th line of Arber-Beck-Florian... the take no shit line. Ooof... Beck has show he can be hard nosed, not a fighter but with these 2 he won't have to.

I don't need 20 goals from Arber as long as he's defensively sound and contribute for his line mates. Beck and Florian can be the scorers but i'm not selling short Arber as he may well surprise us once again.

I’m down with seeing Arber playing a Forward role. Our version of Big Buff

 

[HuGort]

He's worked hard to get where he is. Then Made smart moves at right time to stand out before skill was developed.

He said he knew his last day of camp he was going to be cut. Ran some guys to stand out. Which got him a contract. Because of his physicality. Then he studied offensive defensemen. To add to his game. Developed his shot. He's continually improving

 

[Tyson]

He's worked hard to get where he is. Then Made smart moves at right time to stand out before skill was developed.

He said he knew his last day of camp he was going to be cut. Ran some guys to stand out. Which got him a contract. Because of his physicality. Then he studied offensive defensemen. To add to his game. Developed his shot. He's continually improving

Blue collar guys like Xhekaj can never be underestimated. He has the will!

 

[ChesterNimitz]

Blue collar guys like Xhekaj can never be underestimated. He has the will!

And the skill. People should remember his 100mph+ slapshot. And he's far more mobile than many people think.

 

[shamrun]

And the skill. People should remember his 100mph+ slapshot. And he's far more mobile than many people think.

Its wild to think he was playing on bummed shoulders. Hopefully het gets all his capacity back. Guys like that help you in playoffs.

 

[rickthegoon]

Hearing him talk about his experiences it's easy to see why he felt he had to go at every opportunity.
The interesting factor for me is he's obviously skilled as his post season run in Hamilton proved.
I loved it when he brought up playing forward and having to improve his individual skills.
People don't like to talk about converting Dmen but there is a way to keep this guy and free up our LD if need be.
Honestly I'd rather do that than lose him or even use him as a

Imagine if we had our own version of Dustin Byfuglien . He started his career as a D , then switched to winger then played the last part of his career back on D .
Size, strength, fear factor and booming shot are things him and Xhekaj have in common.
If it becomes evident that he doesn’t cut it on D, I’m all in for a line with both WiFi’s terrorizing opponents while contributing offensively.
We simply cannot let this big kid slip out of our lineup

 

[HuGort]

Blue collar guys like Xhekaj can never be underestimated. He has the will!

Arber said after practice he seen them taping his sticks together. He knew he was being cut. He told Luke Richardson he really wanted to play final game of camp. He knew he had to do something to stand out. So he threw his weight around. They offered him a contract. That night back in hotel room was very emotional night for his family. His family had travelled to watch him in camp. His Mom was crying.

 

[Deebs]

Arber said after practice he seen them taping his sticks together. He knew he was being cut. He told Luke Richardson he really wanted to play final game of camp. He knew he had to do something to stand out. So he threw his weight around. They offered him a contract. That night back in hotel room was very emotional night for his family. His family had travelled to watch him in camp. His Mom was crying.

That was a solid interview

 

[ahmedou]

Arber Xhekaj with Nos Jeunes à Coeur in Montreal-North:

 

[ChesterNimitz]

Its wild to think he was playing on bummed shoulders. Hopefully het gets all his capacity back. Guys like that help you in playoffs.

That's why I cringe when I read some of the posters here eagerly awaiting Abner's return so he can start fighting. This 'my daddy can beat up your daddy' syndrome has got to stop. We need Xhekaj on the ice, not on long term rehab from further surgical repairs to his shoulders. Let him 'hurt' teams with his strong physical play and 100 mph+ shot.

 

[LaP]

That's why I cringe when I read some of the posters here eagerly awaiting Abner's return so he can start fighting. This 'my daddy can beat up your daddy' syndrome has got to stop. We need Xhekaj on the ice, not on long term rehab from further surgical repairs to his shoulders. Let him 'hurt' teams with his strong physical play and 100 mph+ shot.

I honestly wish Xhekaj would cut the crap out of his game and model his game on Emelin (with hopefully better hockey IQ). Good legal clean body check. No fighting unless necesarry and the team is losing/winning by a good margin. Avoid the penalty box. He could become a good two way physical dman if he puts his mind to it.

 

[Adriatic]

I honestly wish Xhekaj would cut the crap out of his game and model his game on Emelin (with hopefully better hockey IQ). Good legal clean body check. No fighting unless necesarry and the team is losing/winning by a good margin. Avoid the penalty box. He could become a good two way physical dman if he puts his mind to it.

That's why we need to add some nastiness up front. I'd rather a forward do most of the fighting instead of a defenseman.

 

[Tyson]

Evidently the Habs are asking Xhekaj to take on more of a leadership role with the younger players. Nice to see.

 

[The Real Timo]

That's why we need to add some nastiness up front. I'd rather a forward do most of the fighting instead of a defenseman.

Agreed. While X is the only player that can actually fight on this team, he won't be able to get away from it. I don't want to see another Georges Laraque BS. Code and shit like that. But, Habs desperately need more nastiness and at least a couple of good scrappers up front. Pezz ain't it.

Evidently the Habs are asking Xhekaj to take on more of a leadership role with the younger players. Nice to see.

Da leadership comes from being a better person. Has he read Michael Therrien's book?