A coach from the Montreal Canadiens confirms a rumor about Arber Xhekaj

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Elias Adaime
April 29, 2023 (5:34 PM)

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In his first NHL season, Arber Xhekaj only played 51 games with the Habs. An injury suffered on February 12th forced him to miss the remainder of the season after his shoulder took a hit during a fight against Quebecer Vincent Desharnais of the Edmonton Oilers.

Invited on the JiC show on TVA Sports this Friday evening, assistant coach and defense coach of the Habs, Stéphane Robidas, had very good things to say about the one they call 'Wifi'. From his words, we understand that Xhekaj needs to choose his moments better to fight and that his contribution, which is more than physical, is well present in the team.

"He is a young player who plays with passion, but he needs to gain experience. We can see that players from other teams respect him immensely. I confirm to you that the other teams would not have taken as many liberties if he had been in the lineup at the end of the season. He has a presence on the ice, and it's not just physical. He is a very good hockey player. He still has good skating for a young player with such an imposing physique." - Stéphane Robidas

This season, Xhekaj dropped his gloves twice in preseason games and nine times in the regular season, according to the excellent website Hockeyfights. He also accumulated 5 goals and 8 assists for a total of 13 points in addition to his 101 penalty minutes and 159 hits.

Robidas, who was taking advantage of his presence in Quebec to watch his son Justin, who plays for the Quebec Remparts, who also won 5-2 against the Gatineau Olympiques, also had good words for the other Habs rookies. He liked the performances of Kaiden Guhle, Jordan Harris, Johnathan Kovacevic, and Justin Barron. The coach seems to see the positive side of this miserable season and has big plans for the future of the team.

"With all the injuries this year, it's hard to evaluate what we have. There are different ways to look at it. I prefer to see things positively. The numerous injuries have allowed many players who could not have played as much to get a lot of mileage. The misfortune of some has made the happiness of others. Next year, we start from scratch. I like the direction we're going in with Martin St-Louis, Kent Hughes, and Jeff Gorton. It's exciting for us." - Stéphane Robidas