As the Montreal Canadiens [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens]keep losing players to injury lately, a sizeable portion of the fan base wishes the organization would call up Florian Xhekaj. While, the 21-year-old, had a great training camp and stuck around until the very end; he hasn’t had a good start in the AHL. This often happens to youngsters who thought they might make the big team, only to land back in the AHL. Whichever way you look at it, it’s a disappointment for them, and that’s understandable, but they’ve got to get over that hump. Canadiens Show New Power Play Units At Practice [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-show-new-power-play-units-at-practice] Canadiens’ Prospect Michael Hage Back At Center [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-prospect-michael-hage-back-at-center] Canadiens Key Forward Out Multiple Weeks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-key-forward-out-multiple-weeks] At rookie camp, Laval Rocket coach Pascal Vincent spoke about the youngest Xhekaj and said he wanted to get him to take the next step this season, after he put up 35 points, including 24 goals, last year. In 15 games this season, he has only managed to gather four points (two goals and two assists) and has spent much of his time in the bottom six because things weren’t clicking. He did skate on the first line alongside Laurent Dauphin and Alex Belzile in Saturday’s game after Joshua Roy was called up, but that was the exception and not the rule. Calling up Xhekaj, who had a good training camp despite a bad start to the season in the AHL, would be unfair to the other prospects plying their trade with the Rocket and would send the wrong message. Performance with the Rocket has got to mean something if you want to keep the kids motivated and engaged. With both Roy and Jared Davidson now up with the Canadiens, Xhekaj will likely end up with more quality ice time, and it’s up to him to make the most of it. Alex Newhook and Kirby Dach are both set to miss significant time, and it’s not set in stone that Roy and Davidson will stay in the NHL for the duration. If they struggle to make an impact, the Habs’ brass could come knocking on the Rocket’s door again, and in case they do, Xhekaj must make the most of his increased role to earn his own opportunity. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Follow Karine on X @KarineHains [https://x.com/KarineHains] Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/karinehains.bsky.social] and Threads @karinehains [https://www.threads.net/@karinehains]. Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/] for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens. Join the discussion by signing up to the Canadiens' roundtable [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens] on The Hockey News. Subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free [https://thehockeynews.store/products/print-subscription]. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I].
