LaP
Registered User
How do you know he'd get 20 minutes a night? Laval is made mostly of vets. Doesn't like the coach can work with kids very well so far. Maybe he'll end up on their 3rd line.
Player Discussion Arber Xhekaj: The Sheriff
- Thread starter Adam Michaels
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Think about this:
Arber Xhekaj is currently scoring NHL points at a higher pace than Robinson did AFTER he posted 39 in 38 in Halifax.
Really, I do get needing to send some guys down in this league. Even Xhekaj may need to go down if he does not cut down his error rate. But if you are talented offensively, you not develop it to a higher level by playing at a lower level.
Vachon23
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Xhekaj won’t be an offensive Dmen though. We want him to be a physical Dmen that can be reliable defensively and he does need work defensively so he can become reliable.
Absolutely Arber can be an offensive force in the NHL by age 23-24.
But yes, like other young talented skaters/shooters in NHL history, he needs to get better at defending. If due to his deficiencies, he falls out of our top 6, he should be sent down. But not if he is top-6.
Lafleurs Guy
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LaP
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Vachon23
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I really don’t see how you can think Arber will be an offensive Dmen. He dosen’t have any offensive tools that are close to be elite and was never an offensive Dmen everywhere he played.
Lafleurs Guy
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Vachon23
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Sorinth
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I'm not sure we can draw too much from "pace" when we are sitting at 9 games.
As a counterpoint Pacioretty is/was talented offensively, but he needed AHL time to really refine his offensive game before it could take off in the NHL. Or if you prefer Subban, his first taste of the NHL had him with 2 points in 2 games and in those 2 games his error rate was also minimal. But they still sent him back down where he did continued to develop. We obviously don't know how things would have turned out had we kept Subban up after those games against Philly but it's pretty safe to say sending him back down wasn't a mistake.
For Xhekaj it's still way too early to say if he is offensively talented by NHL standards. Spending time in the AHL as the #1 D with plenty of PP time would help him develop or at worst show off his offensive game. And yeah if after 30 games in the A he's dominating offensively then yeah he'll have proven he doesn't have anything left to develop offensively in the AHL and the only remaining step is the NHL.
Subban had a developed offensive game when drafted, in his D+1, and in his D+2. He absolutely was not sent to Hamilton to learn more offence.
He was drafted 45th and not 5th because of defensive awareness issues and he needed to work on them.
Even after he came up, he got benched and even scratched (rarely) in the next 1.5 years due to defensive concerns that would flare up. But the issues were ultimately minor enough that we was easily in our top 6 overall by the end of 2011, and climbing.
Pacioretty was sent down because, for whatever reason, his results were not good enough to stay in the starting lineup. At age 21, he scored 3 goals in 52 NHL games. That being said, had MSL been coaching with the approach he is using now, instead of Jacques Martin who was trying to win a Cup, it might not have been necessary. We will never know.
50 points in his final 69 OHL games, including 16 points in 18 playoff games at the end.
He has good wheels, a good shot, and is usually a good passer. He plays with his head up most of the time.
I expect 40+ points per year in his prime.
Vachon23
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Yes he produce like most overage does. His shoot and skating are fine but nothing really special either. You need elite tools to be an offensive player in the NHL and it’s not the case with Arber
JianYang
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I don't know if anyone caught this move arber pulled off against stl in his own zone.
Arber collected the loose puck at the wall with a forchecker coming in quick to plug his outlet.
In one motion, arber collects the puck while spinning and deftly creates a new angle to get the puck past the forchecker and into a soft area for the Habs forward to pick up with time and space.
He's already shown me more puck skills than I ever anticipated.
Arber collected the loose puck at the wall with a forchecker coming in quick to plug his outlet.
In one motion, arber collects the puck while spinning and deftly creates a new angle to get the puck past the forchecker and into a soft area for the Habs forward to pick up with time and space.
He's already shown me more puck skills than I ever anticipated.
I'm the biggest Arber fan but AHL won't ruin him or Slaf... many many great players went there to perfect areas in their game. When the step is too big like D's from juniors to NHL speed or a new ice surface, you know a buffer/lower step helps the kids to adapt with more ice time, confidence and opportunities ( Patch is a great exemple). Think long term, most of our kids except Guhle would benefit from a temporary step down. You talk about it like it's the end of the world but it's all about development.
Imagine how much better Brady Tkachuk and TIm Stutzle would be if they had spent time in Belleville!
Oh, and while we are at it, is there any area in Caufield's game he needs to work on? We should send him down to learn that before his waiver-exemption runs out.
Slaf is much more raw than those two at 18, especially Brady. Do you have more Dman examples?
Dmen who stuck in the NHL at age 21? I'm sure there are many.
I would not be averse to Arber playing in Laval if he is making too many mistakes to stick in our top 6. It's as simple as that.
Right now, he is #4, maybe #5.
Straight from junior without any AHL stints? And after missing a season of development? Bet ya there aint many. Seems like MSL is not trusting him and wideman enough since we clearly play to win... and his opportunities will only diminish once our LDs come back.
Wideman is absolute garbage.
As for Xhekaj, he would be #6 in my book if Eddy and Matheson were back, but if they see him as #7 behind Kovacevic, they will send him down, and that is normal. Young guys should not be #7.
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Vachon23
Registered User
There is a HUGE gape between Xhekaj and Tkachuk Stuzle Caufield.
Sure, and we would see that by whether he is in the top-6 with everyone healthy. If not, send him down when that happens.
But at least it seems you are agreeing that it should be about how well he is doing, not that the AHL is always and automatically the preferred route for every player. And I guess @Desto420 exaggerated when saying that guys should be sent down if there are "areas of the game" they need to work on.
Vachon23
Registered User
Of course not anyone need to go in the AHL. When it’s a pace problem or the play need to slow down for that player so he can work on that aspect then the AHL is the best option. A lack of confidence can be work on in the AHL too, but other aspect of the game doesn’t need to be improve in the AHL. Experience in the NHL can be really benefit for them
Lack of confidence comes from either benching or playing but getting poor results.
When Pacioretty scored 3 goals in 52 NHL games in his second pro season, of course it was better to send him down. But that does not mean that every young player who isn't at a 30 goal pace in his first season should go there to "learn to be a top-6 player". LOL, ALL these guys already know how to be top-6 players at lower levels.
