Player Discussion Arber Xhekaj: The Sheriff

[Walksss]

Not the defense thread, but I find it rich to read that Arber is part of the core and Struble is meh when Struble has legit been the better of both d-men and by a mile.

In a lot of people's minds on here Xhekaj hasn't been bad. It goes to show you how few people are actually watching the games before they post their opinions.

If they are watching the games and they come away thinking Xhekaj at 24 years old right now is part of the core then good lord.

I did like his rush yesterday though, a nice highlight in a sea of lowlights.

EDIT: I just realized this is the Demidov thread and I'm talking shit about X. My bad.

In the spirit of this thread i truly believe that if Demi was over here this year he'd be the best player on the team. What an absolute superstar talent. Can't wait to see him here, but I also can't wait until the next SKA game already, good times.

 

[habbubba]

He, along with so many other players really need to be much more aware on the ice.

 

[LaP]

I don't think we develop an inch without fixing some holes, I'm worried we go backwards this year which isn't good. I'm all for the rebuild, but all these kids just need to play even if they suck on any given night. Keep them out there.

I don't think you can go backward because of one year. Beside we can't really fix holes before the deadwood is gone. I know some fans think it's easy to ship bad contracts to useless players to other teams without paying a 1st round pick but it's not that easy specially with Arizona gone. They are trying kids to see what they got and honestly it's fine people panic for no reason imo. Pens rebuild went like this.

2001-2002 : 69 points
2002-2003 : 65 points
2003-2004 : 58 points
2004-2005 : lockout
2005-2006 : 58 points (no progression after a year long lockout despite having Crosby in the lineup that must have been a pretty massive disappointement but did they went backward ...)
2006-2007 : 105 points (nope they did not)

In a lot of people's minds on here Xhekaj hasn't been bad. It goes to show you how few people are actually watching the games before they post their opinions.

If they are watching the games and they come away thinking Xhekaj at 24 years old right now is part of the core then good lord.

I did like his rush yesterday though, a nice highlight in a sea of lowlights.

EDIT: I just realized this is the Demidov thread and I'm talking shit about X. My bad.

In the spirit of this thread i truly believe that if Demi was over here this year he'd be the best player on the team. What an absolute superstar talent. Can't wait to see him here, but I also can't wait until the next SKA game already, good times.

This year defensively he's as bad as Barron imo. I'm not giving up on him but he'll have to improve or he'll remain a 7th dman.

 

[Tyson]

Chris Nilan who I respect thinks Xhekaj is playing afraid to make mistakes and is confused with how he should play which has clearly led to a player that looks worse now than he did when he was a rookie.
Coming from one of us you could take it with a grain of salt but coming from a former player that might be accurate.

 

[Habs]

I don't think you can go backward because of one year. Beside we can't really fix holes before the deadwood is gone. I know some fans think it's easy to ship bad contracts to useless players to other teams without paying a 1st round pick but it's not that easy specially with Arizona gone. They are trying kids to see what they got and honestly it's fine people panic for no reason imo. Pens rebuild went like this.

2001-2002 : 69 points
2002-2003 : 65 points
2003-2004 : 58 points
2004-2005 : lockout
2005-2006 : 58 points (no progression after a year long lockout despite having Crosby in the lineup that must have been a pretty massive disappointement but did they went backward ...)
2006-2007 : 105 points (nope they did not)

The Pens rebuild was 100% designed around tanking for Sid and Malkin. You get those 2, Letang and Fleury, it's an easy build up from there. The next two drafts have franchise players you can do the same with, so I'm thrilled if we stink it up for a bit. I worry that we get all this talent and the right guy leading the charge.

How many years do you give MSL to see how this team evolves? I'm not sure, I can see him not lasting 2 more years at this rate. I'll let him get Laine, Demidov and a couple young picks up here before totally throwing him under the bus, but I don't like a lot of what I'm seeing now.

 

[Habs]

Chris Nilan who I respect thinks Xhekaj is playing afraid to make mistakes and is confused with how he should play which has clearly led to a player that looks worse now than he did when he was a rookie.
Coming from one of us you could take it with a grain of salt but coming from a former player that might be accurate.

he's 100% afraid , you can see it. Imagine being the only guy who gets sat when you mess up, and the other losers just get a free pass

 

[Walksss]

It's obvious the league now has tape of Xhekaj and every forward in the league knows how to play him both off the rush, which is easy, and on a cycle.

No matter how much you guys love him he has some of the heaviest feet in the NHL and doesn't really have the processing ability to make up for it. Experience is gonna help obviously but how much is questionable with limitations this glaring, the guys ceiling is not that high.

I've rarely seen a defenceman get so routinely deleted in man on man coverage in zone like he does. Players use superior edgework to create enough space to drive an aircraft carrier through it. In the modern NHL that is a massive problem that he will have a very hard time fixing. I don't think an average skating 240 pound Dman is gonna improve his agility all that much but I hope to be wrong.

This isn't to say the other young D aren't without warts but they are all far superior skaters. Barron makes bonehead decisions and is softer but the skating talent is undeniable, thus a much higher ceiling. Hutson is tiny but come on, no comparison. Struble is a bottom pairing guy but even his skating is better than X. Mailloux needs way more AHL time but his skating and offensive IQ are world's better. The vets are the vets; they'll be gone soon enough.

Maybe this is the wrong system for X, maybe he'd be dominant in a zone system where he can just punish people directly in front of the net all game. I certainly don't want that system implemented in Montreal though, it doesn't work that well in the modern day and I wouldn't want to change the entire playbook for one player. He needs to adapt and quickly. There is a metric ton of work to do, let's hope he does it.

 

[LaP]

The Pens rebuild was 100% designed around tanking for Sid and Malkin. You get those 2, Letang and Fleury, it's an easy build up from there. The next two drafts have franchise players you can do the same with, so I'm thrilled if we stink it up for a bit. I worry that we get all this talent and the right guy leading the charge.

How many years do you give MSL to see how this team evolves? I'm not sure, I can see him not lasting 2 more years at this rate. I'll let him get Laine, Demidov and a couple young picks up here before totally throwing him under the bus, but I don't like a lot of what I'm seeing now.

i think MSL is here for the rebuild to not have a coach who would need to win to protect his job (like Michou). MSL made lot of money already it's like a hobby for him. He's here for the rebuild and i'm almost certain he'll be gone when the rebuild will be over.

 

[Habs]

i think MSL is here for the rebuild to not have a coach who would need to win to protect his job (like Michou). MSL made lot of money already it's like a hobby for him. He's here for the rebuild and i'm almost certain he'll be gone when the rebuild will be over.

I think so as well, but they really need to find an assistant to help him out

 

[salbutera]

i think MSL is here for the rebuild to not have a coach who would need to win to protect his job (like Michou). MSL made lot of money already it's like a hobby for him. He's here for the rebuild and i'm almost certain he'll be gone when the rebuild will be over.

MSL will stay as long as he wants to remain coach… he’s got carte blanche, but I expect he’ll quit within 2-years to return to US to be close to his CT home / family

 

[417]

Chris Nilan who I respect thinks Xhekaj is playing afraid to make mistakes and is confused with how he should play which has clearly led to a player that looks worse now than he did when he was a rookie.
Coming from one of us you could take it with a grain of salt but coming from a former player that might be accurate.

Xhekaj, like a lot of players on this team is playing like someone whose afraid to make mistakes.

Nilan just has more sympathy because he's a former fighter and Xhekaj can fight too.

 

[HabsAddict]

I'm a huge fan of X and Mailman but....

This is what i wrote elsewhere on Mailman that also applies to X

......


You can't put Mailman and X together. It's like putting a one eyed man with a one eyed man and expecting stereo vision.

Both of them make mistakes coming out of their wazoo. Both need to play with a Savard or Guhle, neiher is going to develop any time soon at this rate.

We just can't ignore Maiman lost 3 years of development and X wasn't even drafted.

Last night they both proved stupidity level that needs erasing. X passed the puck and it was intercepted, IF Mailman was much further back along the backboards, X would of had more room to flip it to him instead of a low trajectory pass that was intercepted. Dummy 1 and Dummy 2. My big question is, are they getting coached about the devil of the details? This kind of thinking and a million other details isn't slapping them in the face and they need to learn it, which will take time.

This is the kind of in game stuff that a veteran like Weber or Markov could communicate...instead of those two trying to see the game with...one eye each.

Lastly, as a package, neither Struble or Barron can match Mailmans or X overall ability, but Mailman gets the boot. Because they can.

 

[Habs]

I'm a huge fan of X and Mailman but....

This is what i wrote elsewhere on Mailman that also applies to X

......


You can't put Mailman and X together. It's like putting a one eyed man with a one eyed man and expecting stereo vision.

Both of them make mistakes coming out of their wazoo. Both need to play with a Savard or Guhle, neiher is going to develop any time soon at this rate.

We just can't ignore Maiman lost 3 years of development and X wasn't even drafted.

Last night they both proved stupidity level that needs erasing. X passed the puck and it was intercepted, IF Mailman was much further back along the backboards, X would of had more room to flip it to him instead of a low trajectory pass that was intercepted. Dummy 1 and Dummy 2. My big question is, are they getting coached about the devil of the details? This kind of thinking and a million other details isn't slapping them in the face and they need to learn it, which will take time.

This is the kind of in game stuff that a veteran like Weber or Markov could communicate...instead of those two trying to see the game with...one eye each.

Lastly, as a package, neither Struble or Barron can match Mailmans or X overall ability, but Mailman gets the boot. Because they can.

24hr ban for using the nickname 'Mailman' !

 

[OldCraig71]

It's obvious the league now has tape of Xhekaj and every forward in the league knows how to play him both off the rush, which is easy, and on a cycle.

No matter how much you guys love him he has some of the heaviest feet in the NHL and doesn't really have the processing ability to make up for it. Experience is gonna help obviously but how much is questionable with limitations this glaring, the guys ceiling is not that high.

I've rarely seen a defenceman get so routinely deleted in man on man coverage in zone like he does. Players use superior edgework to create enough space to drive an aircraft carrier through it. In the modern NHL that is a massive problem that he will have a very hard time fixing. I don't think an average skating 240 pound Dman is gonna improve his agility all that much but I hope to be wrong.

This isn't to say the other young D aren't without warts but they are all far superior skaters. Barron makes bonehead decisions and is softer but the skating talent is undeniable, thus a much higher ceiling. Hutson is tiny but come on, no comparison. Struble is a bottom pairing guy but even his skating is better than X. Mailloux needs way more AHL time but his skating and offensive IQ are world's better. The vets are the vets; they'll be gone soon enough.

Maybe this is the wrong system for X, maybe he'd be dominant in a zone system where he can just punish people directly in front of the net all game. I certainly don't want that system implemented in Montreal though, it doesn't work that well in the modern day and I wouldn't want to change the entire playbook for one player. He needs to adapt and quickly. There is a metric ton of work to do, let's hope he does it.

We are 32nd in almost everything and a guy on a 1 million per year short term contract is the least of our problems.

 

[Andy]

Arber provides something that nobody else on the team can. Until HuGo corrects that, X is above Struble. Struble being a smidgen better defensively hasn't exactly mattered too much in the grand scheme of things, but imagine how this team would fall apart with nobody to protect them out there for 10 games straight. It'd get real weird.

That's also not to say that Struble couldn't police things out there a bit better. He's got a side to him that's just as scary as Arber, you just really need to poke him to see it.

Arber policing is useless if he cannot provide stable, consistent defending.

Struble is much further along defensively than Arber, and he’s younger, and he’s played less nhl games.

There is a rope fans give Arber that they aren’t giving other D men like Barron, simply because Arber can pound faces. Fact is, he just hasn’t been good for a while now. I still believe in him, but he hasn’t been playing well.

 

[Hannibal]

Arber policing is useless if he cannot provide stable, consistent defending.

Struble is much further along defensively than Arber, and he’s younger, and he’s played less nhl games.

There is a rope fans give Arber that they aren’t giving other D men like Barron, simply because Arber can pound faces. Fact is, he just hasn’t been good for a while now. I still believe in him, but he hasn’t been playing well.

Much more easier to find a struble kind of dman. You will have a lot more difficulty finding a dman with the package that Arber has. He just needs time. He hasnt played that much since the covid year. And he went straight tothe NHL from the OHL. Even a first round pick doesnt do that.

I’ll take 25 to 30 years old Xhekaj ten times of out ten than a 25-30 years old Struble.

 

[Walksss]

We are 32nd in almost everything and a guy on a 1 million per year short term contract is the least of our problems.

His contract doesn't matter at all? I'm talking about his future projection which isn't that good unless there are significant changes, he's gonna get squeezed out and theres gonna be a lot of backlash.

You must not watch too much of the game because in an absolute mess defensively as a team our guy X has been the stand-out worst of the group. Many nights he is indeed the largest of our problems.

Much more easier to find a struble kind of dman. You will have a lot more difficulty finding a dman with the package that Arber has. He just needs time. He hasnt played that much since the covid year. And he went straight tothe NHL from the OHL. Even a first round pick doesnt do that.

I’ll take 25 to 30 years old Xhekaj ten times of out ten than a 25-30 years old Struble.

There are lots of very tough players in the AHL that don't have NHL level defensive ability as well. They aren't hard to find at all.

 

[hvac412]

24hr ban for using the nickname 'Mailman' !

 

[Hannibal]

His contract doesn't matter at all? I'm talking about his future projection which isn't that good unless there are significant changes, he's gonna get squeezed out and theres gonna be a lot of backlash.

You must not watch too much of the game because in an absolute mess defensively as a team our guy X has been the stand-out worst of the group. Many nights he is indeed the largest of our problems.



There are lots of very tough players in the AHL that don't have NHL level defensive ability as well. They aren't hard to find at all.

You really think he won’t get better defensively, lol? The size, the skating, the shot, the physical attributes. Hell of a rare specimen.

I bet you he would look already better being coached by a real coach and play in a real structured team.

 

[Walksss]

You really think he won’t get better defensively, lol? The size, the skating, the shot, the physical attributes. Hell of a rare specimen.

I bet you he would look already better being coached by a real coach and play in a real structured team.

With more reps of course he'll get better, so will Barron, Mailloux, Engstrom, Struble, even Konyushkov. Every single player will, many of those won't make it either. I'm saying he has a limiting factor that will hold him back more than any of those other players, his mobility and edgework.

It's not just the way he gets turnstiled on the rush, his defensive zone coverage is terrible because every single NHL forward has substantially better edgework than he does and that problem will only get worse and worse as younger players with faster edges enter the league.

If he played a zone and could just beat on people in front of the net he would probably dominate but pretty much every team plays a man or hybrid system down low where the D has to be able to shadow a player in tight areas. He hasn't been able to do that at all. How will that change with more experience?

We all want a dominant monster down low who is the toughest guy in the league, sign me up. But they have to be able to play passable D at the minimum. X absolutely does not, he makes Barron look good.

 

[HabsAddict]

X is not that different then Chara. It took Chara a while to develop and in his mid 20s turned into a beast for 15 years. Will X be as good as Chara? I don't know, maybe not as good or maybe another level. But what he certainly isn't...is a finished product right now.

Anyone who thinks that X has reached his potential should go play with their rubber duckies and leave hockey talk to adults.

 

[Hannibal]

With more reps of course he'll get better, so will Barron, Mailloux, Engstrom, Struble, even Konyushkov. Every single player will, many of those won't make it either. I'm saying he has a limiting factor that will hold him back more than any of those other players, his mobility and edgework.

It's not just the way he gets turnstiled on the rush, his defensive zone coverage is terrible because every single NHL forward has substantially better edgework than he does and that problem will only get worse and worse as younger players with faster edges enter the league.

If he played a zone and could just beat on people in front of the net he would probably dominate but pretty much every team plays a man or hybrid system down low where the D has to be able to shadow a player in tight areas. He hasn't been able to do that at all. How will that change with more experience?

We all want a dominant monster down low who is the toughest guy in the league, sign me up. But they have to be able to play passable D at the minimum. X absolutely does not, he makes Barron look good.

Once he will be fully matured, i will take him ahead of Struble, Barron and i would be tempted to say that he will have bigger impact than Mailloux on a team.

 

[CrAzYNiNe]

he's 100% afraid , you can see it. Imagine being the only guy who gets sat when you mess up, and the other losers just get a free pass

Ok I’m not the only one. He appears to be at the in between, too much experience to let it slide, not enough to give him the benefit of the doubt.

The Habs better make sure they help him figure it out, I don’t want to play against him in the future, he will likely kill some one

 

[Walksss]

X is not that different then Chara. It took Chara a while to develop and in his mid 20s turned into a beast for 15 years. Will X be as good as Chara? I don't know, maybe not as good or maybe another level. But what he certainly isn't...is a finished product right now.

Anyone who thinks that X has reached his potential should go play with their rubber duckies and leave hockey talk to adults.

You're not sure if Xhekaj will be as good as Chara? Would you like me to give you the definitive answer to that?

I haven't seen anyone say he's a finished product, that's just a strawman. He's got plenty of runway to develop into a very very useful playerbif things go well. Most people, like me, who think he's got a serious limitation just think it's unlikely he becomes a decent defender in the NHL. It's just a question of how much development is left in the guy cause there needs to be quite a bit of change.

 

[BLONG7]

Chris Nilan who I respect thinks Xhekaj is playing afraid to make mistakes and is confused with how he should play which has clearly led to a player that looks worse now than he did when he was a rookie.
Coming from one of us you could take it with a grain of salt but coming from a former player that might be accurate.

Makes perfect sense.....sadly.
Feel for the kid...............MSL doesn't seem to be a fan, but I can tell you we need this kid to get it and get back in the lineup.