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Defenceman says stint with AHL’s Laval Rocket helped his confidence and spending bye week again residence with household in Hamilton was a pleasant break.
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Whereas lots of his Canadiens teammates spent the bye week within the schedule final week down south on a sunny seaside, Arber Xhekaj went again residence to Hamilton.
This has been a difficult season for the 23-year-old defenceman.
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Seventeen video games into his second NHL season, Xhekaj suffered an upper-body harm on Nov. 16 that may sideline him for greater than two weeks. As soon as he was wholesome, the Canadiens despatched him all the way down to the AHL’s Laval Rocket on Dec. 4. Xhekaj would play 17 video games with the Rocket — posting 3-8-11 totals and 34 penalty minutes — earlier than getting referred to as again up. He performed two video games with the Canadiens earlier than being made a wholesome scratch for the ultimate sport earlier than the bye week — a 3-2 additional time loss to the Penguins in Pittsburgh on Jan. 27.
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“It was good,” Xhekaj stated after apply Thursday in Brossard when requested concerning the bye week. “I went residence. I already had sufficient break day once I received harm. I feel it was greatest for me to go someplace the place I may use this time correctly and go see my household and spend a while at residence.”
Was he jealous seeing images on social media of his teammates sitting on a seaside?
“If you wish to go have enjoyable, go have enjoyable,” Xhekaj stated. “It’s a protracted season. However for me, I used to be simply a while the place I may get my physique again to the place I would like it to be and keep contemporary.”
Xhekaj hit the gymnasium recurrently in Hamilton and he additionally had an opportunity to look at his youthful brother, Florian, play a sport with the Brantford Bulldogs. The Bulldogs beat the visiting Sudbury Wolves 5-3 with Xhekaj in attendance and Florian was named the second star after scoring a aim and likewise getting right into a struggle.
The Canadiens chosen Florian — a 6-foot-4, 190-pound left-winger — within the fourth spherical (one hundred and first total) of final 12 months’s NHL Draft. In 45 video games this season with the Bulldogs, he has 19-18-37 totals and 58 penalty minutes.
Highway to the Cup
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“He’s enjoying nice,” Xhekaj stated about his brother. “I actually like what he’s doing. It was actually good to see him. I haven’t seen him play in a few years. Large enhancements, man. … He’s just about my top now. I haven’t seen him in a bit bit. He retains rising on me. This summer time the battles are going to be fairly good between the 2 of us.”
Xhekaj was additionally capable of spend time together with his dad and mom in the course of the bye week. He comes from humble beginnings with each his dad and mom — Simona and Jack — immigrating to Canada from the Czech Republic and Albania, respectively, within the Nineteen Nineties. The couple met in Hamilton. Simona works within the storage at a Costco in Hamilton altering tires, whereas Jack is a welder for Nationwide Metal Automobile, constructing trains.
“She’s at all times sending me quotes and stuff that she reads on Instagram,” Xhekaj stated about his mom. “She simply desires us to have enjoyable and keep wholesome.”
Is there one quote that stands out?
“She sends so much,” Xhekaj stated with a chuckle. “Each day I’m studying two or three issues a couple of mother and her baby or one thing like that. It’s good to learn … it’s form of an on a regular basis factor for me now to be trying ahead to these.”
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Xhekaj stated this season has been troublesome for him each bodily and mentally. He added that the stint in Laval was good for his confidence and likewise gave him time to suppose.
“Simply to essentially take the time to mirror and simply be a professional,” he stated. “Exhibiting up day by day and actually specializing in all the things you’re doing. Present up half-hour early, get within the gymnasium early, get on the ice first, take each drill critically like a sport. I feel it actually helped me in that facet. It was positively good to play 20-plus minutes each sport and be form of the go-to man down there, enjoying quite a lot of minutes. Taking part in with (Logan) Mailloux, too. Simply to get the touches again after sitting out for some time.
“Perhaps it’s a studying curve as a result of I by no means skilled the AHL earlier than that,” added Xhekaj, who was by no means chosen on the NHL Draft and made the bounce immediately from junior to the Canadiens. “Perhaps I took (the NHL) with no consideration a bit bit. Despite the fact that I used to be considering I wasn’t, perhaps I used to be. You by no means actually know.”
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Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis stated Xhekaj must work on his consistency, from shift-to-shift and game-to-game. He additionally must work on his defending, utilizing an energetic stick, whereas additionally protecting his bodily model of play.
Merely put, Xhekaj continues to be a piece in progress.
“We just like the potential ceiling that we see for Arber,” St. Louis stated. “I feel it’s preserve elevating the ground — and the ground to me is simply consistency.
“It’s not a simple place to play for a younger participant on this league,” the coach added. “A lot of the younger gamers, you’re chasing consistency.”
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