Author: JAG

Don’t Mess With The Xhekaj

Published on by JAG3 Comments

By JAG – Arber Xhekaj has yet to skate in the NHL but, already, he has quite a story to tell. It is a story about Arber stacking shelves at Costco when he received an invite to the Habs’ rookie camp last year. Lookout Cinderella, you have competition!

The short and quick of it is that he had a good rookie camp. And then, apparently, he also had what the Bergevin management team thought was a very good main camp, so much so, in fact, that he went home with an NHL contract in his pocket! Is that Hollywood stuff or what?

OHL

Fast forward a full OHL season in which, despite being traded halfway, he managed to post a career best in points and was a mainstay, or a Clydesdale if you prefer, on the Hamilton blue line. He helped his team win the OHL title and move to the Memorial Cup tournament. The Cinderella story continued until …. they lost, BUMMER!

To compound the disappointment, I watched he and Jan Mysak during the Memorial Cup games and he seemed stiff on his skates and didn’t display the good skating that scouts had mentioned in diverse reports. I still thought he was a good catch for his physicality but the Cinderella story kind of fizzled out.

2022 Camp

Then the 2022 rookie camp happened. I thought I would see much the same from him but nooooh! He was mobile, fluid and, dare I say it, agile for such a big man! Whether he was injured or just dead tired at the Memorial Cup, or he really benefited from the Habs support team in his summer stay in Montreal – apparently, he’s been in town training for quite a while – I don’t know? What I know is that I saw a much better version of the AX-Man at the rookie camp than what I saw of him before. And voila, just like that, Cinderella is back!

By now, you might have guessed that I have a soft spot for underdogs. Generally, I find their stories to be more interesting. And Arber Xhekaj certainly has a good one going!

Looking back at the rookie camp, he was definitely the most physically dominating presence on the ice, even more so than Juraj who was dominating in his challenges but not as physically punishing. Arber owned the space around him, period! The only thing keeping him from being NHL ready right now is that he will have to control his physicality better. He over commits to hits too often, it’s a weakness in the NHL and it will be exploited. Also, shying away from fighting doesn’t seem to be his forte, it will not serve him well in the NHL. However, they are very coachable issues and he looked very good as a hockey player. So far so good! We still have a good story.

The fight

And then, he had THE fight. It just ruined it for some people. Cinderella became Godzilla in the blink of a black eye! Bummer! I’ll stay away from the need for, or value of fighting in hockey debate for now. I’ll just say this. Life is what it is, not what you’d like it to be and certainly not what it ought to be. It is what it is and you have to deal with it! So, as long as other teams have enforcers on their rosters, you’d better have a valid counter puncher on your side or your best players will get hounded and hurt! It’s just the nature of the beast. Bullies have to be reined in! In a way, it’s quite similar to the Cold War doctrine of deterrence through nuclear annihilation except that in hockey, it often ends up with the enforcers duking it out and bearing the brunt of the blows. More of a ritual than a real war when you think of it.

The problem for Arber Xhekaj is that he is already being typecast in this enforcer role, or at least he has the rep of a tough guy …. And it can be a trap, a career killer!

He’s in a big pickle! His physicality, in large parts – no pun intended – is what has brought him where he is now. But he can’t stop being who he is! He’s a tough Albanian kid! Heck, he probably has a couple of aunts that are tougher than him. Everything about him screams tough guy …. with a good heart of course. But Albanian or not, the game of hockey is dangerous enough as it is without adding the risk of concussions from fighting to the long list of hockey’s day to day injuries. Hmmm …. this movie just went from Cinderella to Catch-22! What is he to do?

You would think that his story hasn’t been written yet, that he has a say in his future, that he can learn to play clean and not fight at all. But you’d be wrong! The next chapter of this Cinderella story has already been written …. And experienced, many times!

Enforcer role

It’s an old story and here’s how it goes. Enforcers and tough guys know each other. It’s a community of sorts, it has its own code and rules. In any given league, a pecking order has been already established and fights are controlled and limited. Unless someone goes overboard and rocks the boat, hockey gets played without fisticuffs, most of the time.  

But there is expected upheaval in this peculiar arrangement. Every year brings a new crop of big strapping young men, wannabe enforcers and tough guys, seeking to make a name for themselves and get that elusive first contract. Everybody wants a piece of the NHL. And they also have to make a living. They will compete against each other and challenge the established strong men when needed. At least until a new order is established and balance is restored. It’s very Darwinian if you ask me!

John Scott, Chris Nilan, Darren Langdon

So, even if you don’t want to fight, some guy will challenge you just to show off and you’ll have no choice to fight if you want to keep your job. This is how his fight started in Buffalo. He was challenged right at the face-off, no choice of his, BUMMER!

If you fall into this trap often enough, fighting being what it is, you’ll break fingers and hands and you’ll lose your touch with the puck. You’ll get concussed, you may get a broken jaw once in a while or torn ligaments, countless fat lips, bloody noses and black eyes, not to mention suspensions and such. Pretty soon, you’re on pain killer meds, you’ve become a non-factor for your team and some younger, cheaper guy is breathing down your neck.  That is how you kill a career! That is the BIG trap!

As I said before, the story has been written and experienced many times before by young men just like him. A few of them have found a way to get out of this trap. They still had to fight, at times, but they were no longer identified as mere enforcers, they just became tough hockey players you don’t mess with.

Future role

I think that Arber Xhekaj has what it takes to be one of them. I heard him being likened to Ben Chiarot, I agree and I think it would be a waste for Arber not to have this type of career.

First, he needs to control his physicality and temper. He can’t be the one being baited into taking a penalty, most coaches frown on that you know. But he is abrasive enough to make others take the bait and draw a penalty, most coaches smile on that! Also, he doesn’t need to drop the gloves or Xhekaj (it’s a verb now) some poor schlep into the boards as much as he does now. He can just pick his spots. Shea Weber would be a good example to follow. He just has to be patient, he’s a Clydesdale in the making …. if he wants to be! And if that be the case, by the end of his career he will have thousands of hits, blocked countless shots and, hopefully, his name on some shiny silver hardware along with his Habs’ teammates.

Shea Weber

But I’m getting ahead of myself. He will need help and support of course. Control can be learned through good mentorship, experience and maturity. He should get plenty of that from Martin St-Louis, Stéphane Robidas, Jean-François Houle and company.

And there are factors that should limit fighting activities even as the camp starts. First, the NHL is slowly, gradually, getting rid of fighting. The game is also evolving in unforeseen ways. Cap space issues have squeezed out many enforcers to be replaced by cheap, predictable defensive specialists. And when minimum wage is $750K a year, just big and mean doesn’t cut it anymore, you have to be able to play the game at speed to make it in the NHL, that also cut into the number of enforcers.

Reputation

Surprisingly, he can use his reputation as an advantage. Anybody that is acquainted with the OHL already knows that you don’t mess with the AX-Man. You’ll get Xhekaj-ed, and it WILL hurt!  The same can be said for the Senators rookies that witnessed him in action …. and the thousands of hockey fans and other tough guys who watched the video clip of the fight. People are starting to know that ‘’You don’t mess with the Xhekaj!’’

I spoke about deterrence before, Arber Xhekaj is the ultimate deterrent. And the Canadiens need someone like him. I don’t know where he learned to fight but he learned well. A colleague from another site called him the assassin, it was meant as a compliment but I think he’s wrong. Arber fights like a technician. I’ve watched a few of his fights and he’s controlled and efficient, he gauges, assesses, maybe takes a couple of half-blocked blows, probably to get pumped a little, and then he pulls the trigger …. once or twice and it’s over. Arber Xhekaj is one of the best fighters I’ve seen in hockey and I’ve watched hockey for 40 years. He may get challenged in the beginning of the season but regardless if it is in the AHL or the NHL, ‘’You don’t mess with the Xhekaj!’’ will become the word on the street sooner rather than later.

Don’t be naïve and think that I am praising his fighter’s skills, I’m not! Becoming the best hockey player he can be should be his first priority, period. That being said, he will get challenged. Or grabbed, or jumped, and he will have no choice but to defend himself. As I said, it is what it is.

Soooo, the faster he makes people understand that ‘’You don’t mess with the Xhekaj!’’, the faster he can get down to the business of becoming a mainstay on the Habs’ blue line. Hopefully, he’ll only have to fight a few times and it’ll be convincing enough for tough guys and enforcers alike to let him play hockey and leave the Xhekaj-ed episodes for someone else. In the mean time, I feel sorry for the poor saps that will stand in his way. They’ll get Xhekaj-ed!

And hopefully, that’s how this Cinderella story ends!

Quick notes on the AX-Man:

  • I heard that he played right D at times in Hamilton. If so, it would be interesting to give it a look. If he could play on the 3rd pair with Harris or Guhle, it would be one less headache for Mr. Hughes
  • I like the AX-Man as a nickname, matching his initials with his on-ice persona is kind of cool
  • I hope the Habs players don’t start to call him Cindie (Cinderella)
  • My apologies to all his aunts, it was only a writer’s trope to accentuate my point, please don’t hit me!

Keep your stick on the ice, the puck is coming.

Thanks for reading,

JAG

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Prospects Challenge: Eye Test Report

Published on by JAG3 Comments

By JAG – The Prospects Challenge has come and gone. The following is an eye test overview of the three games played by the Habs’ prospects.

The game plan

Jean-François Houle seemed, at first, to have the same game plan as his colleagues. Basically, get out there on offense as soon as you get the puck and put it in the net. If not, come back like hell, get the puck back, repeat! As simple as that!

What else could you expect when you have 30 prospects who hardly know each other and are coming from five different countries, eight different leagues and about twenty different teams. I expected the games to look more like street hockey than NHL hockey. And I didn’t expect any team to play with coherence under such circumstances. I was wrong, at least in the Habs’ case anyways! Mister Houle found a way to get a measure of coherence sometime in game two, mostly through line adjustments and he followed it up with a team showing emerging cohesion in game three. Not a small feat indeed! Kudos to Mister Houle, it bodes well for the Laval Rockets upcoming season.

As for the players, I have to say that every single player on the Habs’ side showed why he deserved to be there. From the most unexpected invitees to the first pick overall, they all had good moments. The Habs were never out of it.  Especially in game two against a New Jersey roster featuring a good measure of AHLers compared to the Habs’ mere four AHL players, the kids did us proud and played very well.

In net

All three goalies offered solid performances. Vrbetic is already signed on an AHL contract and should develop further this year. Coulombe should get a serious look before a decision is made on a Habs’ offer but an AHL contract could be in the books. Mercer is the big question mark, he did very well, is only eighteen and has not been drafted. He will go back to Junior but the Habs should keep an eye on him, he’s available.

On defense

I don’t see a universe where Justin Barron doesn’t start the season in the NHL. His composure, lecture and overall skillset all scream ‘’I’m ready’’! Jordan Harris is NHL ready, his four years in college have paid off, he is physically mature and I can’t wait to see how he develops under MSL. Norlinder showed enough flashes to be noticeable but at his age, I expected more from him. At times he looked like a guy who wants to play in Sweden this season. We’ll see. He may be the first left D to be traded. Fairbrother finally looked like the player that was drafted for his robustness and mobility and he plays both sides of the defense now. Smart move on his part, it’s too busy on the left side anyways!

Kaiden Guhle

Guhle’s play was every bit as advertised. I could nitpick on a few shortcomings, but they are all related to lack of experience which should be acquired right this year, either in the AHL or the NHL. I have the feeling he will finish the season at the Bell Center. William Trudeau looked a lot better than what I saw last year, he surprised me on some plays with good reads and timely jumps to support offense. A good season in the Q should earn him an entry level contract, he has at least the potential of a third pair defenseman with some offensive upside. 

Santino Centorame and Miguel Tourigny definitely need to play games in the AHL before their true ceiling is assessed but they both showed good things. I think they could both get a try-out or an AHL contracts respectively to start their professional careers.

Lastly, there is Arber Xhekaj! I could write a whole article on the AX man. In fact, it’s already in the works, it is called ‘’Don’t mess with the Xhekaj!’’, watch for it coming up next.

On offense

First, Jared Davidson, Cédrik Guindon, Riley Kidney and Joshua Roy – who didn’t play in the challenge due to a minor hand injury – are all eligible to go back to Junior and, in all likeliness, should do so at some time during or after the main camp. Davidson showed the grit and motor he was drafted for and stands an outside chance of getting signed as an AHLer this year. Guindon has shown to be much better than what is generally expected from a late fourth rounder. He is agile, quick and fast and reads the play well. He may be a ‘’Joshua Roy’’ type of find for the Habs. You always knew when he was on the ice. Defense needs work but he has the tools and the speed to be effective in that department. Kidney and Roy would both be ready for the AHL if they were eligible. Rules are rules and they will have to spend one last year in the QMJHL and work on size and strength for Kidney and a bit more speed for Roy. They should both dominate the scoring in the QMJHL and should make Team Canada at Christmas.  

Pierrik Dubé may have earned an AHL contract or a try-out anyways, he showed some flashes of offensive talent and could be a long term project. Ryan Francis got better as the Challenge went on and had a solid third game. Definitely worth a longer look before a decision is made in his case. He has speed and offensive upside, he reminds me of Jake Evans somehow, I would definitely try him out in Laval. Xavier Simoneau also got better as the Challenge went on and, being a draftee, will most likely sign an AHL contract to start his career in Laval.

If the new management didn’t know much about Brett Stapley before, they now know that they have a better player than they thought. He showed that four years in Denver have made him into a solid 200 feet player. He is already signed to an AHL contract and will ply his trade in Laval for now but look for him to climb the depth chart rather quickly and possibly be an NHLer by next year. I have followed his progress since he was drafted at 19 years old out of the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers team. He’s a gamer whose forte is his hockey IQ. He’s a center right now but may be better served as a winger as he develops. Don’t count him out.

John Parker-Jones was the one player that exceeded my expectations the most. He’s only 22 and he’s a BIG man. At 6-foot 7-inches and 230 lbs, he is physically NHL ready right now but needs games at a higher level. He too may be a long-term project. He’s listed as a right shot defenseman but played the Challenge as a forward and scored a beautiful goal on a breakaway. He displayed solid puck protection, reasonable speed, grit and good reads.  He has AHL contract written all over him… maybe more! He could be this year’s BIG find!

Owen Beck

The other player that exceeded my expectations was Owen Beck. As a rule, I’m suspicious of people that feel obligated to tell you they’re smart. In my experience, truly smart people don’t really have to mention it, it shows! Don’t mind my bias, Mister Beck resolutely put his money where his mouth is and he looked very smart on the ice …. Often! Of all the forwards not named Slafkovsky, he may be the most NHL ready of the bunch. Quick, fast, agile, great compete, great hockey IQ, great reads on both sides of the puck, physical, etc. etc. Impressive indeed! Parker-Jones may be this year’s rookie camp BIG find but Owen Beck has to be the Habs’ draft’s biggest steal!

Condotta, Mysak and hopefully Heineman – although it’s reportedly NHL or Europe for him – should all start in Laval and all have a good chance to do stints with the Habs as trades and injuries free up spots in the BIG. Even though these three are very different players; grinder, 200 foot center and speedy winger, they’ve all reached a level where they are valid call-ups in the different roles they can fill. They will all improve their game in Laval and should be ready before they get the call.

Filip Mesar is a bit of a poser. I really liked what I saw, but is he physically ready for Laval or should he go back to Junior? I saw him in civilian clothes coming out of the Habs’ bus in Buffalo and he is not thin …. nor is he skinny. He has a thick core like Gallagher does. Low center of gravity and a strong core make him effective in traffic, which he displayed several times in the games he played.  If he does well at the main camp, a ticket to Laval maybe the path for his development. He’s played with adults before so it wouldn’t be a big stretch.

Slafkovsky

And saving the best for last …. Juraj Slafkovsky is a genuine young thoroughbred and he showed it …. sometimes too much! He is supersized all the way and he seems to have only one speed, full steam ahead that is! He kept attacking walls of defenders and almost went through a few times! In the end, he tried to do too much …. and too often!

So what I say! It was great fun to watch! He put on display just how fast, physically dominant and intimidating he is. Repeatedly! Like a thoroughbred, he will need to be reined in by Martin St-Louis …. and probably often! That’ll be fun to watch, but it will subside soon enough, the kid is smart!

“Juraj Slafkovsky’s reaction to the fans who wanted to draft Shane Wright first overall”

On the downside, I found that the reports I have read about his shortcomings in reading the play are true. I witnessed it a few times in the two games he played. Yet, I am not too concerned. I’ve heard that the plan is to start him on the third line and I’m hoping Gallagher will be on that line with either Dach or Monahan to calm him down and show him the right way to play. That would go a long way in helping St-Louis get the best of his talents. If not Gallagher then Anderson. Imagine Anderson, Dach and Slafs cycling the puck with you in the middle or all three coming at you full speed …. Scaaaary! The Habs will not be easy to play against, that’s for sure!

Notwithstanding his shortcomings, I haven’t changed my mind about Slafkovsky. He’s still a bit unpolished and he’s not perfect but I’m convinced that, as a BIG piece of the Habs’ Stanley Cup puzzle, he will be a perfect fit …. For a long time!

Summary

So, there you have it. As far as prospect groups go, this is a good one. Coaching was good and players performed as advertised …. Or better! Which came as a surprise considering some really poor prospect performances in the not-so distant past.

Of course, time will tell how much of what we saw was just promises and how much will actually come to be. This will be great fun to watch unfold to be sure.

Keep your stick on the ice, the puck is coming!

Thanks for reading.

JAG

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