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Prospect Info: Florian Xhekaj

windycity said:
I feel like we should pay you for this report😁 thanks for posting it, he's an intriguing prospect
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Boss Man Hughes said:
I think that's 2 games in a row Xhekaj had a goal called back due to a high stick. The other night he deflected a Sobolev shot in and it was erroneously called a high stick.
Were you at the game? I had it on CHL TV but I had the Owen Sound and Saginaw games on too and I was paying more attention to the Saginaw game.
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I was watching the game with some of my staff on CHL TV. Its really a treat to watch with people who have a wealth of knowledge of the game and have known and scouted some of these players since they were minor bantams. They know these kids, their parents and now their agents.

Junior hockey is a real business. Unreal.
 
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dackelljuneaubulis02 said:
He's 19 right now. If he was born a couple weeks or so later he'd have another year of junior eligibility anyways, no?
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No, junior eligibility is by birth year. He is a 2004, so technically he has an overage year of eligibility next year. But you're thinking of the eligibility for the NHL draft. Players have to be born September 5th or earlier in the year to qualify for the NHL draft.

i.e. For this next draft, players born from Sept. 5, 2005 - Sept. 4th, 2006 are eligible.
But all players born from 2004 - 2008 will be eligible to play junior next year. (With a limit of 3 2004's per team).
 
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Tim Wallach said:
No, junior eligibility is by birth year. He is a 2004, so technically he has an overage year of eligibility next year. But you're thinking of the eligibility for the NHL draft. Players have to be born September 5th or earlier in the year to qualify for the NHL draft.

i.e. For this next draft, players born from Sept. 5, 2005 - Sept. 4th, 2006 are eligible.
But all players born from 2004 - 2008 will be eligible to play junior next year. (With a limit of 3 2004's per team).
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Oooohhhh. Thanks for that. Always got that mixed up. Sorry @BaseballCoach .

Still, I think he’d be helped by another year in junior. He’d be buried in Laval
 
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ChesterNimitz said:
I was watching the game with some of my staff on CHL TV. Its really a treat to watch with people who have a wealth of knowledge of the game and have known and scouted some of these players since they were minor bantams. They know these kids, their parents and now their agents.

Junior hockey is a real business. Unreal.
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Wondered if you were at the game. I have been to games there several times.
 
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dackelljuneaubulis02 said:
Oooohhhh. Thanks for that. Always got that mixed up. Sorry @BaseballCoach .

Still, I think he’d be helped by another year in junior. He’d be buried in Laval
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I would lean heavily towards sending him back to Dogs next year as long as it's to play center as developing him as a center is huge imo and must be tried until he shows he can't.
 
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Tim Wallach said:
No, junior eligibility is by birth year. He is a 2004, so technically he has an overage year of eligibility next year. But you're thinking of the eligibility for the NHL draft. Players have to be born September 5th or earlier in the year to qualify for the NHL draft.

i.e. For this next draft, players born from Sept. 5, 2005 - Sept. 4th, 2006 are eligible.
But all players born from 2004 - 2008 will be eligible to play junior next year. (With a limit of 3 2004's per team).
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Sept 15th
 
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FrankMTL said:
Tuch-Xhekaj-Heineman

Obviously that's if Florian can continue to grow as a center. They'd be a royal pain in the ass to deal with. But yes, i'm seeing more as a 4th line physical center.
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I think people here are being overly influenced by Florian's size and physical play and are wrongly pigeonholing him as a fourth line player.

This kid has above average straight-forward speed; possesses a powerful shot; sees the ice well and exhibits excellent playmaking ability which skills all compliment his physical play. There's a reason he plays on the Brantford's power play. And his presence on the power play is not just standing in front of the crease and acting as a screen. Florian plays the right half boards ( like Suzuki) and much of the Bulldogs' power play runs through him. He also plays on Brantford's penalty killing unit. This is hardly the roles of a fourth line thug. In some ways, Florian's skating style and play making ability makes me think of a young Dach.

Florian needs to be much quicker and he is still growing into his body as there still is an element of clumsiness to his play. For example, he really has trouble coordinating and executing his one-timers. There's a lot of swings and misses.

I watched him play against Kingston and Florian had a largely tepid game. While he played in all high leverage situations and made several highly skilled passes, I was expecting more offensive push from this promising player. One player who didn't disappoint was Marek Vanacker. This kid is gold. He has great speed, strong hockey skills and a high compete level. If we somehow have a resurgence in the second half of the season and drop down to the 10 to 15 draft position, this kid is at the top of my list. Think Kyle Connor with more speed and a bit more edge. I can only hope that when the Canadiens are following up on Florian they have taken note of this kid. I'm sure other teams have.
 
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FrankMTL said:
Tuch-Xhekaj-Heineman

Obviously that's if Florian can continue to grow as a center. They'd be a royal pain in the ass to deal with. But yes, i'm seeing more as a 4th line physical center.
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Third line version of the Legion of Doom.

I'm good with that.
 
If he could become a similar type of player to what Adam Lowry is, that would be a welcomed addition in our bottom six.

Not expecting him to be as good defensively as Lowry, but be a guy who is hard to play against. solid defensively, chips in some points and sticks up for teammates.
 
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Habs13 said:
Pezzetta - Condotta - Xhekaj


I want this as the 4th line
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The Habs have hurt you so much you're hoping 5th line can be your 4th.

lamk9.jpg
 
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Didn't realize he was playing C. Wonder if that carries over. Will certainly make speed not as necessary.
 
Great pick. I think he have qualities to become a really good bottom 6 player at NHL level.

Everyone wants top 6 players, but having a great bottom 6 is always important in playoffs. Beck, Xhekaj, Heineman and more... we can built a really good bottom 6.
 
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