Player Discussion Arber Xhekaj: The Sheriff

HabsAddict

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Feb 27, 2002
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I cracked a smile when i saw him do a Bobby Orr...

He skates into their zone, takes a skate around the net, comes out to the top of the circle and fires the puck. He has a 107mph shot so that means a lot. Never seen that from him before.

Also doing the Ice General thing means a lot. He's seeing the ice and the game instead of his play. Last one who did that was Markov.

Don't get me wrong, he still makes a dumb play here and there but FAR less then he did before.

I want to see his offense and him using his canon more accuratly. He's already clocked over 102 moh in game and he's going to get better and FASTER with age.

My hope for him turning into Chara Lite sounds far fetched but look at Chara past. He wasn't a offensive force until he was traded and all of a sudden, he found his offence.

Keep in mind he jumped straight into the NHL from the OHL.

Give him time...and do not be suprised.
 

dackelljuneaubulis02

Registered User
Oct 13, 2012
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I cracked a smile when i saw him do a Bobby Orr...

He skates into their zone, takes a skate around the net, comes out to the top of the circle and fires the puck. He has a 107mph shot so that means a lot. Never seen that from him before.

Also doing the Ice General thing means a lot. He's seeing the ice and the game instead of his play. Last one who did that was Markov.

Don't get me wrong, he still makes a dumb play here and there but FAR less then he did before.

I want to see his offense and him using his canon more accuratly. He's already clocked over 102 moh in game and he's going to get better and FASTER with age.

My hope for him turning into Chara Lite sounds far fetched but look at Chara past. He wasn't a offensive force until he was traded and all of a sudden, he found his offence.

Keep in mind he jumped straight into the NHL from the OHL.

Give him time...and do not be suprised.
Yeah it’ll be interesting to see how good he can be. Couldn’t be happier that he’s turning it around. Dude has really solid offensive potential. I think possibly close to top pairing offense. How good he can be D wise will ultimately determine how good he can be.
 
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Trabdy2

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Nov 30, 2018
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Probably one of the brightest spots for our team this year is Xhekaj's improvement over the last 10 games or so. He's looking like a solid bottom pairing dman now. Impressed with his play, and he should have a regular place in the lineup if he keeps this level of play up.
 

Deebs

Without you, everything falls apart
Feb 5, 2014
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Probably one of the brightest spots for our team this year is Xhekaj's improvement over the last 10 games or so. He's looking like a solid bottom pairing dman now. Impressed with his play, and he should have a regular place in the lineup if he keeps this level of play up.
Less is more with Arber. If he doesn't try to be anything he's not, he'll be an everyday, reliable NHL player and have a solid career as a 3rd pairing/penalty killer.
 

Hannibal

Fear the Weber
Feb 11, 2007
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He probably our best dman at protecting the net and playing around our net.

Tourigny pretty much confirmed it on the radio the other day. Lemay ask him before facing the Habs, what does he show his team in the meeting before facing the Habs. Beside the obvious of caufield, hutson’s play, he said he showed how Xhekaj is defending the crease and how he blocks opposing players from around the net. It was pretty telling
 

BozoTheClown

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Jul 10, 2021
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He probably our best dman at protecting the net and playing around our net.

Tourigny pretty much confirmed it on the radio the other day. Lemay ask him before facing the Habs, what does he show his team in the meeting before facing the Habs. Beside the obvious of caufield, hutson’s play, he said he showed how Xhekaj is defending the crease and how he blocks opposing players from around the net. It was pretty telling
Kovacevic and Xhekaj were good together at keeping the clear free of players.
 
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SlafySZN

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May 21, 2022
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Yeah it’ll be interesting to see how good he can be. Couldn’t be happier that he’s turning it around. Dude has really solid offensive potential. I think possibly close to top pairing offense. How good he can be D wise will ultimately determine how good he can be.
Top pairing offense? Let’s not exaggerate, he has 3 points lol
 
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dackelljuneaubulis02

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Oct 13, 2012
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Top pairing offense? Let’s not exaggerate, he has 3 points lol
The slapper alone is evil. But he shown on Laval and the next few games that he can create quite a bit.

I don’t think he necessarily produces that much and I’m not talking about 60 points plus. More like 40. He may never get it because of deployment but I think he has the offensive skill for it
 

dauv

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Sep 23, 2022
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Columbus is working on an extension for Olivier. I highly doubt he makes it to UFA
Olivier knows Habs have interest, if he wants to play for the habs he won't sign the extension and i have a gut feel that he wants to sign here. Maybe your right though, it's fun to speculate
 
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