Prospect Info: Florian Xhekaj

[DAChampion]

people laughed at me last year when I said he would go in the 1st round in a re-draft. Been saying since he started showing tons of progress last year that he's one of our top prospects and that's clearly the case now. Still has work to do though, that's what's so impressive is he went to the AHL at around 185 lbs which for a 6'4 tough guy is nuts in terms of balance alone.

By now nobody should be laughing at you when you post specific opinions about prospects and development.

 

[malcb33]

My controversial opinion;

F. Xhekaj is a better centre prospect than Beck.

Both are ideally third line centres and Xhekaj brings more to a team than Beck.

Can we fuse them together and make a 2C? That would really help us right now

 

[DAChampion]

My controversial opinion;

F. Xhekaj is a better centre prospect than Beck.

Both are ideally third line centres and Xhekaj brings more to a team than Beck.

It's not that controversial after several pages of people praising Xhekaj

Also Beck really slowed down when he was sent back down. Prior to that he was playing better.

 

[HuGo Sham]

people laughed at me last year when I said he would go in the 1st round in a re-draft. Been saying since he started showing tons of progress last year that he's one of our top prospects and that's clearly the case now. Still has work to do though, that's what's so impressive is he went to the AHL at around 185 lbs which for a 6'4 tough guy is nuts in terms of balance alone.

Good job dude; you're always bang on.
I can just imagine the number of teams calling Hughes for this kid -
or wanting him in any deal trying to acquire the C or RD

 

[Mrb1p]

My controversial opinion;

F. Xhekaj is a better centre prospect than Beck.

Both are ideally third line centres and Xhekaj brings more to a team than Beck.

Not that controversial. Theyre the same age, Flo has a special package and is producing just as much.

Beck is expandable IMO, love the kid though.

 

[Habitant#1]

Are the concerns about his shooting percentage being unsustainably high legitimate?

 

[SpeedyPotato]

I am in complete Awe with his game. He is everything I wish he could have been in his first year as a pro.

I believe he is one of those gems that you rarely find in those 4-7rounds. His overall game from the start of the season to right now is night and day, he took a giant step in the right direction.

Thank god for a good coach in Laval, finally.

Weren’t many posters here completely thrashing the Pascal Vincent hire at the beginning of the season?

 

[JadedRandom]

Are the concerns about his shooting percentage being unsustainably high legitimate?

Yes. Xhekaj has played great and has had amazing success cleaning-up rebounds, deflecting pucks in, and more, but that shooting percentage is unsustainable.

Long story short, Xhekaj's been shooting from very high-danger scoring areas, deflecting pucks in, tipping goals, exploiting his very good shot in 2-on-1s, but he's also been getting lucky breaks more often than not from the goalies.

It doesn't mean that Xhekaj isn't playing great, because he absolutely is in these playoffs and the last 20 games or so of the season. But it doesn't change the fact that Xhekaj got gift-wrapped a couple goals more than pure numbers would have warranted statistically-speaking.

What those stats say in a quieter fashion is that Xhekaj played a lot of third/fourth-line minutes at the start of the year with Luke Tuch, focused on cycling, low-event hockey and possession, with not many shots.

It also tells a tale of improvemnt over time, only for Xhekaj to then get rewarded with PP time and more offensive minutes in which he found chemistry with teammates and got rewarded a lot for it.

Those stats also paint a picture that illustrates how Xhekaj has a tendency to defer too much to his linemates and should just shoot a little bit more himself, as well as Laval's situation this year of getting a lot of leads early, holding them, and then taking advantage of teams for empty-net goals.

There's lots of moving parts in this seemingly simple stat called "shooting percentage".

 

[Kimota]

I see great potential from this kid. He reminds me of Lucic in his style of play.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

I see great potential from this kid. He reminds me of Lucic in his style of play.

Lucic was a much heavier player, a true NHL heavyweight. Florian has superior hockey skills, vision and straight forward speed. If you are looking for an NHL comparable, think Nick Paul. But unless Florian picks up that missing half step of quickness, he will not meet the lofty expectations that so many here are now predicting. When sentiments about a player change so dramatically, from the player being regarded as a throw away draft pick to being a potential NHL second line center, a bit of realism, if not caution, should exerted before you jump on the Florian bandwagon.

From this writer's perspective, and someone who watched most of his games in Brantford and Laval, I see Florian as a future NHL power winger who can contribute offensively. I doubt that the will ever develop the necessary skating ability/style/quickness to play center effectively at the NHL level. And certainly not as a second line center. Vincent's decision to play Florian on the wing with Beck was the right move. Particularly with the return of Gignac and the recent arrival of Kapanen. The move will allow Florian to maximize his talents: excellent straightforward speed, size, forechecking zeal and playmaking ability. This kid will almost certainly play in the NHL. Just not as a center.

 

[Rapala]

Not that controversial. Theyre the same age, Flo has a special package and is producing just as much.

Beck is expandable IMO, love the kid though.

 

[Mrb1p]

View attachment 1034407

LMAO

ExtAnsive gun knowledge to find this one.

 

[Kimota]

Lucic was a much heavier player, a true NHL heavyweight. Florian has superior hockey skills, vision and straight forward speed. If you are looking for an NHL comparable, think Nick Paul. But unless Florian picks up that missing half step of quickness, he will not meet the lofty expectations that so many here are now predicting. When sentiments about a player change so dramatically, from the player being regarded as a throw away draft pick to being a potential NHL second line center, a bit of realism, if not caution, should exerted before you jump on the Florian bandwagon.

From this writer's perspective, and someone who watched most of his games in Brantford and Laval, I see Florian as a future NHL power winger who can contribute offensively. I doubt that the will ever develop the necessary skating ability/style/quickness to play center effectively at the NHL level. And certainly not as a second line center. Vincent's decision to play Florian on the wing with Beck was the right move. Particularly with the return of Gignac and the recent arrival of Kapanen. The move will allow Florian to maximize his talents: excellent straightforward speed, size, forechecking zeal and playmaking ability. This kid will almost certainly play in the NHL. Just not as a center.

Yea that is what I saw as well that he's less heavy and has more skills and speed. But a lot of goals that he scored reminded me of Lucic esp. close to the net.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

Yea that is what I saw as well that he's less heavy and has more skills and speed. But a lot of goals that he scored reminded me of Lucic esp. close to the net.

No question, Florian has a good net presence. But, he possesses an excellent shot that will allow him to score from mid and long ranges whether stationary or on the move.. This kid, with his range of skills, has a chance to be a valuable, productive player for the Canadiens, and not simply as a fourth line disturber.

 

[Kimota]

No question, Florian has a good net presence. But, he possesses an excellent shot that will allow him to score from mid and long ranges whether stationary or on the move.. This kid, with his range of skills, has a chance to be a valuable, productive player for the Canadiens, and not simply as a fourth line disturber.

Agreed! First I thought he would just be potentialy a solid fourth liner in the NHL but this year he blossomed to such a level at Laval that I think he's gonna be more than that if used well.

 

[tazsub3]

funny reading all the posts and remembering after the draft the tons of post shitting on hugo for drafting him. saying we need talent and not just draft a no talent just cause he is the brother

 

[Mrb1p]

funny reading all the posts and remembering after the draft the tons of post shitting on hugo for drafting him. saying we need talent and not just draft a no talent just cause he is the brother

Wasnt much skill left on the board when he was drafted anyway. Mukhanov and Forsjfall maybe but even then, they were long shot small forwards.

 

[tazsub3]

Wasnt much skill left on the board when he was drafted anyway. Mukhanov and Forsjfall maybe but even then, they were long shot small forwards.

oh for sure but you know these board...people that never seen a draft board suddenly become experts and hugo become horrible,

 

[CzarDemidov]

funny reading all the posts and remembering after the draft the tons of post shitting on hugo for drafting him. saying we need talent and not just draft a no talent just cause he is the brother

Wasnt much skill left on the board when he was drafted anyway. Mukhanov and Forsjfall maybe but even then, they were long shot small forwards.

I criticised the pick on the grounds that Hughs didn't swing for the fences on talent with "long-shots". This is my preferred approach to draft picks in the NHL (but not, say, the NFL). I figured: what's the point of drafting for the bottom6 when at the NHL level those players can be picked up for free or very cheap at nearly any time?

I still have this conceptual framework but it's nice to see a player surpass their draft-day profile. It shows good things about our scouts, our GM, our development team, and of course the player himself. Hopefully the good story continues.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

funny reading all the posts and remembering after the draft the tons of post shitting on hugo for drafting him. saying we need talent and not just draft a no talent just cause he is the brother

Yes, I was one of the many who were skeptical about the pick. Curious, I started to watch Brantford's games to see what we had in Xhekaj 02. Frankly I was amazed. We had this awkward, tall kid who was faster than most of his contemporaries. He had an above average shot and most importantly, he had excellent vision and playmaking ability. I was so impressed that I opined at the time that this kid should be on Hockey Canada's radar for the then upcoming WJC. I received a lot of abuse from posters for my assessment with some expressing concern that the old admiral's boat was sinking or had sunk.

But I will again caution against too much expectations about this interesting young player. I have been watching this game for a long time and have seen a lot of promising prospects over the years come and go. Florian Xhekaj offers a lot of promise. But he has to get quicker to be effective at the NHL level. Because without that missing element of quickness, this kid will never reach the expectations that so many of his former doubters are now touting. You can almost hear the all too predictable calls of ... he's a bust!

Can he do it? We will soon find out.

 

[Tyson]

Yes, I was one of the many who were skeptical about the pick. Curious, I started to watch Brantford's games to see what we had in Xhekaj 02. Frankly I was amazed. We had had this awkward, tall kid who was faster than most of his contemporaries. He had an above average shot and most importantly, he had excellent vision and playmaking ability. I was so impressed that I opined at the time that this kid should be on Hockey Canada's radar for the then upcoming WJC. I received a lot of abuse from posters for my assessment with some expressing concern that the old admiral's boat was sinking or had sunk.

But I will again caution against too much expectations about this interesting young player. I have been watching this game for a long time and have seen a lot of promising prospects over the years come and go. Florian Xhekaj offers a lot of promise. But he has to get quicker to be effective at the NHL level. Because without that missing element of quickness, this kid will never reach the expectations that so many of his former doubters are now touting. You can almost hear the all too predictable calls of ... he's a bust!

Can he do it? We will soon find out.

Admiral I have said before and I will say it again, your takes are a must read for me!

 

[jrom]

He progressed as the year went on. And that's what you want. You don't want things handed to your prospects. Earning it is what's best for them.

He also had 175 penalty minutes. I could be wrong, but I believe he's the first rookie ever in the AHL to have 20+ goals with 150+ penalty minutes.


I really hope Thorpe has a similar type of progression next year. Because I feel like Florian and Thorpe being on the Habs' Bottom-6 in a few years will make a difference.

I read that 4 players did it before him, 3 no-names and the last one was Gerard Gallant

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

I've said it before (i think) and I'll say it again.

If he becomes close to Adam Lowry that's a huge f***ing piece.

 

[HabsAddict]

LX will need to be with tough players because he's going to cause a lot of scrums and fights. His natural partners are players like Beck, Davidson, Tuch, etc. Players that don't mind the rough stuff.

Marty is not going to like that but then, this is what wins playoff series. If he smothers players like that, i rather change SMarty then the players.

I'm old enough to remember that the Habs fielded tough teams mixed with their immense talents. Tremblay, Mahovolich, Lambert, Riseborough, Robinson, Lapoint...they would beat you any way you wanted...

 

[Junohockeyfan]

Are the concerns about his shooting percentage being unsustainably high legitimate?

He should purposely miss the net to bring his shooting percentage down so its less concerning.