Canadiens: Prolific writer suggests Florian Xhekaj will make his NHL debut next season
On Friday, Stu Cowan answered fan questions in his Habs Mailbag. One writer inquired about attacking prospect Florian Xhekaj, asking if Arber's younger brother would make his NHL debut this upcoming season.
Cowan, a longstanding beat writer in Montreal, stated that the move wouldn’t surprise him, saying “I expect Xhekaj to start the season with the AHL’s Laval Rocket but can also see him near the top of the list when it comes to call-ups if (when?) there are injuries with the Canadiens.”
Cowan cited both Xhekaj’s physicality and impressive offensive production at Habs’ development camp and with the Brantford Bulldogs last season in support of his opinion. The left winger posted 34 goals and 65 points in 63 games last season. The thought of calling him up is tantalizing. I'm sure many Habs supporters would like to see the brothers play together and deal out solid hits against the opposition.
The only issue to point out is that production in the OHL does not always translate to production in the AHL, and Xhekaj needs to play a full season, or at least half, to properly evaluate how he contributes at the professional level. If you want physicality up front, then Kent Hughes should hold onto Michael Pezzetta and hope that Josh Anderson provides more value this year.
To harp on offence, there are a few factors that would positively benefit Montreal's scoring and interfere with Xhekaj's call up to a degree. Will the club be desperate for scoring next year? If so, that means Cole Caufield has a similar pace to last season, Anderson doesn't raise his game to avoid another tumultuous campaign, and Kirby Dach is once again not healthy nor available to contribute.
How much of an impact do up-and-coming blue liners lend to the team? Let's say Lane Hutson gets the nod on opening day and is tasked with playing the point on the power play. It's a lot to rest your hat on a 20-year-old to fix one of the worst special teams units in the NHL, but hopefully can still give a good offensive upside. Logan Mailloux may even provide such a spark following his AHL All-Star season when he is called-up sometime this year.
If the Canadiens front office elects to promote an OHLer, it would most likely be Owen Beck before Xhekaj. You can make the same argument with the centre that I made with the winger in that he needs to play a full AHL season. What I like about Beck is his skating and two-way ability are solid and were showcased through his contributions to the Memorial Cup winning Saginaw Spirit this past year.
Again, this isn’t to say that Xhekaj won’t play in the NHL next year, but it will most definitely be a short stint. A full year in Laval will do him good, and it will be interesting to see how much production and physicality he lends to the AHL club.