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Player Discussion Arber Xhekaj: The Sheriff

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HabsAddict said:
Odelein comparison is close...but X is far bigger then him. Odeline was 5'11" and 200 vs 6'4" and 238.

It's been decades since we had a home grown beast with anger mismanagement issues. Way back to Brashear, Kordic and Nylan for heavy duty fighters. In fact, none of them were this big unless you count Laraque.

As for talent AND fightinng, way bsck to Furgeson.

Habs management has to pull put every trick they have to improve and get this kid into our top 6 defense.

Then enjoy a decade of nuclear deterence.
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One of my relatives compared him to a young Kordic. X is much bigger though, but people forget that in juniors. Kordic was a pretty good defenseman.
 
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HabsAddict said:
Odelein comparison is close...but X is far bigger then him. Odeline was 5'11" and 200 vs 6'4" and 238.

It's been decades since we had a home grown beast with anger mismanagement issues. Way back to Brashear, Kordic and Nylan for heavy duty fighters. In fact, none of them were this big unless you count Laraque.

As for talent AND fightinng, way bsck to Furgeson.

Habs management has to pull put every trick they have to improve and get this kid into our top 6 defense.

Then enjoy a decade of nuclear deterence.
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Hockey has passed these type of guys by. If he cannot contribute playing hockey he will not play.
 
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MXD said:
Ludwig wasn't a great fighter though despite being amongst the strongest players in the NHL during his career, if not the strongest. I mean, he could fight, it's just that the likes of Nilan and Kordic, not Ludwig, who took care of the fisticuffs.
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Ludwig was a raging bull and those types of hits happened often enough. That 86 & 89 Cup final teams had big & mean Ds - Chelios & Ludwig played right on the edge even by the standards of 80s hockey and Green was no shrinking violet either
 
rickthegoon said:
Gotta love that big kid.
The Habs absolutely need to put over the top work in development with him to make sure he becomes a genuine NHL'er in a couple of years.
He's a rare breed. When's the last time you saw a good skater on the back end with such violence and confidence in our team? I think it's never.
Not saying he has the same talent, but I think he's more of a Chris Pronger type than an Odelein actually. The kind of guy that you really think twice before entering on his side.
So let's go Habs management, make sure this kid hits his ceiling.
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Francis Bouillon kind of player...but of course twice taller :D

Would be cool if he can learn the ankle hit à la Larry Robinson
 
salbutera said:
Ludwig was a raging bull and those types of hits happened often enough. That 86 & 89 Cup final teams had big & mean Ds - Chelios & Ludwig played right on the edge even by the standards of 80s hockey and Green was no shrinking violet either
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Ludwig was a physical player but he was not a "raging bull". He mostly played under control and relatively clean and was not afraid to drop the gloves. Rick Green was a big, cerebral defensive player who was not known as a big hitter. I would compare Ludwig's physical game to Ben Chiarot.

Neither of these players were remotely as aggressive as Emelin or Ulanov who hunted opposing forwards and didn't miss an opportunity to obliterate anyone who put themselves in a position to get crushed.
 
His deterrence may reach Robinson level if he can play on the top 2 pairings.

Difference between deterrence from 3rd pairing/4th line, and someone who can actually play. That's what made Milan Lucic and Zdeno Chara so valuable to those late 2000s Boston teams.

I have high hopes for him.
 
Estimated_Prophet said:
Ludwig was a physical player but he was not a "raging bull". He mostly played under control and relatively clean and was not afraid to drop the gloves. Rick Green was a big, cerebral defensive player who was not known as a big hitter. I would compare Ludwig's physical game to Ben Chiarot.

Neither of these players were remotely as aggressive as Emelin or Ulanov who hunted opposing forwards and didn't miss an opportunity to obliterate anyone who put themselves in a position to get crushed.
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Ludwig and Rick Green were much nicer than Xhekaj.
 
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Love this kid. We haven't had this type of player in a long time. He's the type of player that when things start to get out of hand a little bit, he'll either make it worse :laugh: or calm things down fairly quickly.

He's got that enforcer moustache coming in real nice.

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BenchBrawl said:
His deterrence may reach Robinson level if he can play on the top 2 pairings.

Difference between deterrence from 3rd pairing/4th line, and someone who can actually play. That's what made Milan Lucic and Zdeno Chara so valuable to those late 2000s Boston teams.

I have high hopes for him.
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I have high hopes too. Man is he going to be fun to watch if he pans out. I was reading Sens board yesterday and they are still talking about him as a scrub that will never play an NHL game. The tears across the league if they are all wrong.... omg
 
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Paddyjack said:
Geez, no wonder I remember that hit so well to this day. I'm glad we don't see these kinds too much anymore
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It's so crazy to think these types of hits happened nearly every game. While I love violence and the physical nature of hockey, you're right, happy the headshots have diminished
 
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I had a dream last night that we traded AX to the rags for a draft pick and crap prospect lmao.

This guy is going to be so fun to watch this year I can't wait.
 
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Paddyjack said:
I have high hopes too. Man is he going to be fun to watch if he pans out. I was reading Sens board yesterday and they are still talking about him as a scrub that will never play an NHL game. The tears across the league if they are all wrong.... omg
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Hughes said that Xhekaj had the potential to 100% play in the NHL one day.
 
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Some folks think he is nothing but a thug who can't skate, can't play etc.
What boggles my mind is he went undrafted into the OHL and the NHL and still ended up with an entry level contract.
There are hundreds of undrafted players who carved out great NHL careers.
I would not bet against him.
 
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Paddyjack said:
Geez, no wonder I remember that hit so well to this day. I'm glad we don't see these kinds too much anymore
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Ludwig said he would have called it a cheap shot had it not been him, asserted that he's not known as a cheap shot artist and maintained he wouldn't change.

Doesn't sound like there,s much remorse there, TBH...
 
HabzSauce said:
I had a dream last night that we traded AX to the rags for a draft pick and crap prospect lmao.

This guy is going to be so fun to watch this year I can't wait.
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Your subconscious saw him in the Kitchener jersey and went to work when you fell asleep lol
They think they're soooooo funny those guys I tell ya man
 
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Tyson said:
Some folks think he is nothing but a thug who can't skate, can't play etc.
What boggles my mind is he went undrafted into the OHL and the NHL and still ended up with an entry level contract.
There are hundreds of undrafted players who carved out great NHL careers.
I would not bet against him.
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Arby can skate and play hockey, so he will make a great D for us, i'm sure.
 
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