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

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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

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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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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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Hannibal

Fear the Weber
Feb 11, 2007
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To me, he’s untachable in his own genre.

To have a big, intimidating, shutdown dman like him on our third pair moving into our rebuild to contender is a must and so important.

He’s playing the best hockey of his young career and he improves daily. Congrats to him to get out of his funk he had at the beginning of the year. Another proof of his strong mental toughness and dedication.

Keep it up, big boy.
 

yianik

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Jun 30, 2009
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Its in the minutes. Game before Xhekaj had just over 21 minutes and last night just over 19 minutes, 3rd most of the D. Xhekaj is a favourite of mine but I dont wish ill on Struble. Maybe one of those 2 can just play their off side and form a thunderous bottom pair, although I still think Xhekaj could be something more one day.
 

WeThreeKings

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Sep 19, 2006
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To me, he’s untachable in his own genre.

To have a big, intimidating, shutdown dman like him on our third pair moving into our rebuild to contender is a must and so important.

He’s playing the best hockey of his young career and he improves daily. Congrats to him to get out of his funk he had at the beginning of the year. Another proof of his strong mental toughness and dedication.

Keep it up, big boy.

Can we now put to rest that the GM and coach hated him? He's playing better and they are using him accordingly. He has also not been shy about being physical or getting involved in the after the whistle shit.

Controlled aggression now.
 

zzoo

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Mar 9, 2004
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I'm happy that Arber have sorted out. He has played much better in the last few games than the beginning of the season. Let's hope that Dach will follow the same path soon.
 

badfish

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I know one thing MSL said early in his tenure is he wanted to teach young players "when to and when not to" and you can see with Xhekaj, he's learning when to be aggressive/tough and when not to. Also learning when to fight and when not to. He's been playing fantastic. I know it seems like he's been playing for the Habs for a while but he's just over 100 career games. Hard to picture what he'll be at 200 or 300 games for example. He's going to be perfect for playoff hockey, whenever that happens.
 
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Tyson

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Mar 1, 2007
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I know one thing MSL said early in his tenure is he wanted to teach young players "when to and when not to" and you can see with Xhekaj, he's learning when to be aggressive/tough and when not to. Also learning when to fight and when not to. He's been playing fantastic. I know it seems like he's been playing for the Habs for a while but he's just over 100 career games. Hard to picture what he'll be at 200 or 300 games for example. He's going to be perfect for playoff hockey, whenever that happens.
Yep 118 games, he still has some growth ahead.
 

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