Prospect Info: Florian Xhekaj

[cave troll]

Lucic had 19 points in 62 games in his draft year. Moen had 15 points in 66 games in his draft year and 16 points in 40 in his draft + 1 year.

Big guys are made different. Should be well known by now. It doesn't mean anything other than be patient. He could be the next Moen or the next Lucic or a big "flop" who knows.

Florian Xhekaj has 79 kg. What makes him a big guy?
Cole Caufield also has 79 kg. Lucic is 105 kg guy.

 

[Saku K]

Florian Xhekaj has 79 kg. What makes him a big guy?
Cole Caufield also has 79 kg. Lucic is 105 kg guy.

Florian was 5'9 at 15 years old
The 6'2 174 pounds stat is fairly old
6'3 183 at 2023 training camp roster
6'3 188 on habs website
6'4 190 on hockeydb & Brantford bulldogs website

He lacks some meat on his bones right now I'll admit but he should easily pass the 200 pounds weight mark in his pro career. I don't know if he'll ever have another growth spur but he should qualify as a big guy his entire playing career. If he can move up in the heavyweight division like his brother, that would be a bonus unlike pezzetta who can't perform against the biggest fighters.

I like the pick, his start offensively is good. Hopefully he can replace pezzetta once he is fully developed and ready. If he ever makes it, it will be special that finally have our players protected and by competent hockey players as well and not goons.

 

[Tyson]

This is the type of player you take a chance on in the 4th round. Unique upside

 

[yianik]

Does any player in the Habs' system have better initials than Florian Xhekaj?

Lol. Damn right, FX. Then his brother WIFI. Any brother duo in all of sports better than that ? No, impossible.

Imagine, FX tips in WIFIs point shot et le but.

 

[admiralcadillac]

Florian Xhekaj had 25pts in 68gp in his draft year. That’s abysmal.

I don’t watch amateur hockey so I don’t know what the scouts across the league were looking for but that low production usually precludes any chance of getting drafted from what I understand.

If I’m wrong, so be it. I won’t stake any fortune on being “right” — my comment wasn’t to pick any fight.

He’s doing better this year. Maybe he’s very gifted and raw. Good for us and our scouts, if that’s the case.

I just showed you Tom Wilson’s stats.

 

[LaP]

Florian was 5'9 at 15 years old
The 6'2 174 pounds stat is fairly old
6'3 183 at 2023 training camp roster
6'3 188 on habs website
6'4 190 on hockeydb & Brantford bulldogs website

He lacks some meat on his bones right now I'll admit but he should easily pass the 200 pounds weight mark in his pro career. I don't know if he'll ever have another growth spur but he should qualify as a big guy his entire playing career. If he can move up in the heavyweight division like his brother, that would be a bonus unlike pezzetta who can't perform against the biggest fighters.

I like the pick, his start offensively is good. Hopefully he can replace pezzetta once he is fully developed and ready. If he ever makes it, it will be special that finally have our players protected and by competent hockey players as well and not goons.

Tall teenagers often lack meat on their bones. One of my childhood friend is 6'3 and when he was a teenager he was so awkward when doing sports. He was not that hard to move either despite his height. He was so skinny. In his 20ies he was a **** monster and he would not budge one inch when pushed.

BTW the best comparable for Xhekaj in term of junior production is probably Josh Anderson. Josh Anderson had 22 points in 64 games in his draft year and was drafted in the 4th round.

 

[WinterLion]

Haha they keep calling him Arber!!!

 

[Harry Kakalovich]

What a fun player to watch. Reminds me of when Xhejak sr. was in junior — extremely fun junior player to watch as well. They might have found another gem.

Florian Xhekaj made a pretty large jump in level last season, and acquitted himself quite well. The OHL is a very good league and a guy like Tanner Pearson took years to figure out how to succeed there, but then once it clicked he became a very good pro player. Hopefully Florian can continue to progress like that - he definitely has some skills the Habs could use!!

 

[Nico Cauzuki]

the Xhekaj brothers will definitely become the bash brothers

 

[BaseballCoach]

Good game from Beck.

But man Xhekaj is looking good at C. Kid’s pretty damn good at distributing the puck.

So is he an overager by just a couple days?
Kid actually has some skill.

I couldn’t help but feel like this was a token pick when it happened (even though another Xhekaj didn’t feel like the worst thing in the world) but he looks like he could be a helluva bottom 6er.

Him along with Tuch and Davidson could give us some nice secondary scoring. I really think we have a good mix of players going forward

Florian is not overage. He got drafted the week he turned 19 instead of at 18. He finishes his normal Junior years this year, and could possibly do an overage year next year (as Arber did).

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

Florian is not overage. He got drafted the week he turned 19 instead of at 18. He finishes his normal Junior years this year, and could possibly do an overage year next year (as Arber did).

Awesome! Thanks. So he’s a young 19 too.

Looked good squaring off against Beck. Could be a nice little steal in the 4th

 

[LesHabitants]

Florian is not overage. He got drafted the week he turned 19 instead of at 18. He finishes his normal Junior years this year, and could possibly do an overage year next year (as Arber did).

 

[FrankMTL]

Awesome! Thanks. So he’s a young 19 too.

Looked good squaring off against Beck. Could be a nice little steal in the 4th

Definitely. Hopefully he keeps developing at a rapid pace like his brother did at that age.

Damn I just noticed he's 6 foot 4 now....He will be a beast when he's done growing.

Having Xhekaj Jr. and Tuch on the 4th line could be pretty damn entertaining. They will add some much needed punch (no pun intended) to the Laval Rocket line up next season.

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

Definitely. Hopefully he keeps developing at a rapid pace like his brother did at that age.

Damn I just noticed he's 6 foot 4 now....He will be a beast when he's done growing.

Having Xhekaj Jr. and Tuch on the 4th line could be pretty damn entertaining. They will add some much needed punch (no pun intended) to the Laval Rocket line up next season.

Yeah he looks really big out there. Moves well. I like what I see

 

[schwang26]

Xhekaj looks like he’s terrorizing the other kids out there. Man. He just slams those guys! Really hope he has the drive to make it. That’d be some damn good scouting

 

[Matthew McConaughay]

Xhekaj looks like he’s terrorizing the other kids out there. Man. He just slams those guys! Really hope he has the drive to make it. That’d be some damn good scouting

He plays like Arber did, which is great.

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

I would not have bet on it, but the Florian at center experiment is actually going really well. He's even having success in the faceoff circles.

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

I would not have bet on it, but the Florian at center experiment is actually going really well. He's even having success in the faceoff circles.

He moves well, distributes pucks nicely, not crazy hands but not bad at all.
I really like this kid. Good nose for the net, big and physical. This added versatility is icing on the cake. Looking like a solid pick so far

 

[Tyson]

9 goals in 17 games playing center. He looks like a natural carrying the puck.
The kid is a whole lot more skilled than people think.

He plays just like his big bro.

 

[Saku K]

Fun stats, his 9 goals have been scored on 21 shots and zero on the powerplay. That's a hot streak but at the same time I'm happy he's being a one man wrecking crew 5-on-5. At this point, I think most would have been unhappy if the habs didn't take a flyer on him.

 

[montreal]

I have to admit I did not think it was a good idea to pick him that high, I only saw him once last year but I was far from impressed so I thought it was more of a token pick for his brother but he's really impressed me. I don't want to say too much since I should have my top 20 out in the next week or so but he's certainly showing that he's a legit prospect and could be a good one. Clearly a major need in the organization.

 

[Junohockeyfan]

He's athletic - like his brother. Strong on his skates. But he's raw in terms of development. Seems like there is a lot of room for improvement and that is encouraging. He's the very definition of a project. Would like to see him in the AHL for at least 2 years working on all facets of his game and skating.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

I have to admit I did not think it was a good idea to pick him that high, I only saw him once last year but I was far from impressed so I thought it was more of a token pick for his brother but he's really impressed me. I don't want to say too much since I should have my top 20 out in the next week or so but he's certainly showing that he's a legit prospect and could be a good one. Clearly a major need in the organization.

It’s this kid’s skating. Dare I say he’s fast. I’m seeing him push off opposing defencemen who respect his speed on the rush. That’s the easiest eye test: how do defenders react? There’s a lot of potential upside with this completely underrated prospect. Big and fast. What could be finer?

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

He's athletic - like his brother. Strong on his skates. But he's raw in terms of development. Seems like there is a lot of room for improvement and that is encouraging. He's the very definition of a project. Would like to see him in the AHL for at least 2 years working on all facets of his game and skating.

Yeah if he was born like a week later, he has another year of junior eligibility. Lot of runway ahead of him.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

He's athletic - like his brother. Strong on his skates. But he's raw in terms of development. Seems like there is a lot of room for improvement and that is encouraging. He's the very definition of a project. Would like to see him in the AHL for at least 2 years working on all facets of his game and skating.

Florian is a better, more fluid skater than his older brother at a comparable age. This could get very interesting.