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Prospect Info: Florian Xhekaj

montreal said:
I think he is already viewed as one of their best forward prospects, as I would be willing to bet teams when they called about Arber and were told no, they asked on Florian next. GMs love kids that are big and nasty to play against, play a good two way game, but also has some decent hands. When the playoffs roll around he'll be worth his weight in gold.
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I agree. But that may be saying more about the current state/depth of Montreal's forward prospects than Florian's comparative promise. Hopefully, this upcoming draft will change that pessimistic outlook.
 
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ChesterNimitz said:
He has much better offensive skills and mobility than Lucic. Lucic could never play the point or half-boards on the power play with the flair and skill that Florian can. But again, we shouldn't pigeon-hole this kid because of his size. His success at the NHL level will be as a result of his offensive skills, not his mere physicality. I see much more Nick Paul in Florian's game than a Lucic.
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I haven't seen Paul in a few years but with Xhekaj he clearly has a number of interesting tools, the power he shows, the nastiness and toughness he plays with just reminds me of Lucic as once he fills out some more and improves his lower body strength and work on being more explosive, he's going to be a force if he can keep progressing.
 
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Habssince89 said:
Can't wait until he's making his debut in a few seasons. He'll be a key role player for a team lacking toughness and scoring in the bottom six
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Our bottom two lines lack scoring and toughness? I’m shocked.

In my close to 70 years of watching this team I’ve never seen a weaker bottom three lines. The fact that we were competitive in most of our games was due to the strength of our top line, the above average goaltending that we generally received game-in and game out and mostly, our highly mobile defence. That is why it pains me to read some (many ) here ready, willing if not eager to trade some of our most mobile defencemen : Matheson, Guhle and Harris.

I have often warned that you trade away skating ability at your team’s peril. This warning applies doubly to mobile defencemen.

With his recent developmental trajectory, Florian provides hope of better results from our bottom lines. I will watch with interest his play in Laval this year to see if his remarkable ascendancy continues.
 
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He definitely has the right profile for a bottom 6 role, if they can just improve his skating a tad and make him maybe 10% more explosive, which should be doable. He's on a positive development curve, let's hope he keeps going that way :thumbu:
 
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Not expecting much from the younger Xhekaj but if he becomes that nasty bottom 6F some think he can be, great!

Habs are loaded with grade B's. Some will surprise and most will not. The good news is we have lots so I'm sure there will be a few hits.
 
Habs Halifax said:
Not expecting much from the younger Xhekaj but if he becomes that nasty bottom 6F some think he can be, great!

Habs are loaded with grade B's. Some will surprise and most will not. The good news is we have lots so I'm sure there will be a few hits.
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One thing i'm sure about him is, he's physical, can fight and can score.
 
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I absolutely loved him at camp last year. I think he will surprise at camp, be a late cut and a top 3 callup in case of injuries. Perfect fourth liner in the making. Pezz out FX in.
 
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Xhekaj looked great at development camp today. Good stride, head up with the puck, good hands, goal scorer touch, and a good release… while still being mean out there. I had him as a replacement for Pezzetta one day… but he’s looking like more than that.
 
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Beaker said:
Xhekaj looked great at development camp today. Good stride, head up with the puck, good hands, goal scorer touch, and a good release… while still being mean out there. I had him as a replacement for Pezzetta one day… but he’s looking like more than that.
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Still needs a good bit of work on improving his lower body strength, he plays that power game but still needs more strength if the plan is for him to be at the pro level next year and not loaned back to the OHL.
 
montreal said:
Still needs a good bit of work on improving his lower body strength, he plays that power game but still needs more strength if the plan is for him to be at the pro level next year and not loaned back to the OHL.
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I agree.

Once he's developed physically though he'll be scary, because he's one hell of a hockey player on top of being mean for no reason other than liking violence.

Beaker said:
Xhekaj looked great at development camp today. Good stride, head up with the puck, good hands, goal scorer touch, and a good release… while still being mean out there. I had him as a replacement for Pezzetta one day… but he’s looking like more than that.
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Pezzetta doesn't have the hockey IQ or skill that Xhekaj does, on top of being shorter.
 
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