Montreal Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj has brought a good attitude to the AHL's Laval Rocket according to his coach.
Montreal Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj has brought a good attitude to the AHL's Laval Rocket according to his coach.
The reactions were mixed when the Montreal Canadiens announced on Tuesday that Arber Xhekaj was assigned to the Laval Rocket. The defenseman is a fan favourite due to his style of play.
Xhekaj has earned the respect of his teammates and his peers due to the respect he imposes on the ice with his presence. He has memorable fights with notable tough guys such as Zack Kassian, Tanner Jeannot and Ryan Reaves.
The 22-year-old had been sidelined with an upper body injury for over two weeks before he was sent to the AHL. During Xhekaj's absence, Jayden Struble slotted into the lineup and has had a solid NHL debut since his recall.
Martin St. Louis claims that the decision to send Xhekaj to Laval had nothing to do with Struble's performance. "[Media members] are making a bigger deal out of this. [Arber Xhekaj] is a young player. It's part of the process to reach the highest ceiling he's going to reach as a professional athlete," said St. Louis reacting to questions on the move.
The coach cited the example of Justin Barron, who started last season in Laval for 25 games before becoming a regular in the NHL.
Missing Sheriff
Xhekaj made his AHL debut on Wednesday night in a divisional matchup against the Belleville Senators. The contests between the Canadiens and the Senators AHL affiliates always involve physicality as the teams face each other 12 times in the season.
Wednesday's matchup was no different. The officials handed out 54 penalty minutes in a game that had several post whistle scrums, Belleville had their way with Laval on the scoreboard and physically.
The Rocket needed a sheriff to spark things and make sure that the opposition showed respect. 'The Sheriff' was playing that game but was nowhere to be seen. Xhekaj was challenged by Belleville's tough guy Bokondji Imama and he declined the invitation to drop gloves.
"First game, he's trying to get to know his opponents, trying to get to know his teammates right now. He came into a game where they imposed their will on us quite early and our young team played on their heels," said Jean-Francois Houle evaluating Xhekaj's first game.
Xhekaj finished the evening with minus-2 and two shots on goal in the 5-2 loss.
First Points
On Friday, the defenceman formed a pair with Logan Mailloux on the top pairing against the Hartford Wolf Pack. Xhekaj recorded his first career AHL point early in the game with an assist on Philippe Maillet's power play goal. The pairing had some issues on the defensive side of the game, but Xhekaj looked more involved and engaged in this contest.
The following afternoon, Xhekaj took three shots on goal and added a second assist to his record. In the rematch against the Wolf Pack, the Hamilton native did not hesitate to get his nose dirty in scrums.
Tough Mentally and Physically
Following his first week sporting his new uniform, Xhekaj shared his self-evaluation. "It was tough the first game, mentally, physically and it was a big change. The game is a lot different [in AHL]. It took a lot of adjustment but I think after that I got my feet in the water and after that I improved in the last two games."
"It was a good week," said the coach evaluating the Sheriff's first week. "I thought the game [on Friday] was just okay, he had some turnovers, but you can't forget that he hasn't played in 3-4 weeks because of his injury. [Saturday] I thought he was really good. He moved the puck hard, made some heavy plays where he won pucks."
Positive Attitude
It's never an easy situation when an established NHL player is assigned to the AHL. An argument can be made that 68 career NHL games doesn't qualify as established but Xhekaj earned a NHL spot last season out of camp and started this season in Montreal.
Other recent examples of established NHL players that the organization assigned to the Rocket are Joel Armia, Gustav Lindstrom, and the previous administration demoted Karl Alzner and Keith Kinkaid to the AHL. Not all the players accepted their faith in good spirits.
"He's had a good attitude, which is a good thing when you get sent down from the NHL to the AHL" Houle said about Xhekaj. "If you come here with the right frame of mind to get better instead of seeing it as punishment, you feel much better about yourself."
The Rocket's standard operating procedure during Houle's tenure has been to let 1-2 days go by before having a conversation with a NHL player assigned to his roster.
In his conversation with Xhekaj, Houle assured the defenseman that things change quick in hockey, that he will be back in the NHL one day and should take the opportunity to refine his defensive play in Laval.
It's rare that an undrafted player leaps directly from junior hockey to the NHL like Xhekaj did last season. Houle feels that this one step back will help the defenseman take two steps forward.
The message was received positively affirmed Houle. "It puts things in perspective. You're in the NHL, you make a big salary and everything is nice and fine. Everyone loves you. Sometimes a dose of humility changes a person a bit, but he's very serene with the situation."
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