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Post by Cranky on Sept 20, 2022 14:01:05 GMT -5
Xhekaj turns 22 in January and just looking at him one would probably have to go somewhat far back in time to find video or photos where he had a teen body. I want him to focus on development and finding his ceiling as a d-man, so I certainly do not want him fighting guys like Reaves, Wilson, Deslauriers, or Lucic when he eventually gets a taste of the NHL. But if big, yappy star forwards like the Tkachuk brothers want to drop the gloves with Xhekaj I would gladly unleash him if I coached the Habs. I didn't realize we had another knuckle dragging, balls ground scraping Neanderthal that enjoys fire and hell a bit too much. Welcome to the club! |
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Post by Andrew on Sept 20, 2022 15:09:06 GMT -5
On the topic of height and weight, there's another NHLer with an identical 6'3, 238lb frame as Slaf - and he has 780 career goals! Obviously Ovi is a bit of an outlier, but demonstrates that you can excel at such a significant playing weight. Slaf doesn't have the explosiveness of Ovi in his stride, so I would agree that in his case he'd benefit from shedding some weight.
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Post by BadCompany on Sept 20, 2022 15:43:17 GMT -5
Odelein comparison is close...but X is far bigger then him. Odeline was 5'11" and 200 vs 6'4" and 238. It's been decades since we had a home grown beast with anger mismanagement issues. Way back to Brashear, Kordic and Nylan for heavy duty fighters. In fact, none of them were this big unless you count Laraque. As for talent AND fightinng, way back to Furgeson. Habs management has to pull put every trick they have to improve and get this kid into our top 6 defense. Then enjoy a decade of muclear deterence. 15 years ago Xhekaj would have been almost guaranteed a spot in the NHL. Heck, 10 years ago he probably would have had a spot in the NHL. Now? Not so sure. He may be a great fighter, but he’s gotta bring a lot more than that if he wants to play 15-18 minutes a game in the NHL. A lot more. One thing he does have going for him though is a booming shot. Which means that I don’t see him being the next Lyle Odelein, but more like the next Sheldon Souray. Like Souray, he’s a feared fighter who can shoot, but (to this point) hasn’t demonstrated much else. He’s not a horrible skater, but he’s also not fast, nor particular agile. And while I wouldn’t say he’s a defensive liability, I’m not sure he’s a last-minute-of-the-game kind of guy. Unfortunately the best place for a guy like that would have been, again 10 years ago, as the point shot on the power-play. Now, the trend is to more mobile, creative guys on the blueline, even on the power-play. He’ll need to find something else in his game to make it. I like Xhekaj. He’s a throwback. But that might be his biggest problem. |
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Post by Cranky on Sept 20, 2022 16:25:45 GMT -5
Odelein comparison is close...but X is far bigger then him. Odeline was 5'11" and 200 vs 6'4" and 238. It's been decades since we had a home grown beast with anger mismanagement issues. Way back to Brashear, Kordic and Nylan for heavy duty fighters. In fact, none of them were this big unless you count Laraque. As for talent AND fightinng, way back to Furgeson. Habs management has to pull put every trick they have to improve and get this kid into our top 6 defense. Then enjoy a decade of muclear deterence. 15 years ago Xhekaj would have been almost guaranteed a spot in the NHL. Heck, 10 years ago he probably would have had a spot in the NHL. Now? Not so sure. He may be a great fighter, but he’s gotta bring a lot more than that if he wants to play 15-18 minutes a game in the NHL. A lot more. One thing he does have going for him though is a booming shot. Which means that I don’t see him being the next Lyle Odelein, but more like the next Sheldon Souray. Like Souray, he’s a feared fighter who can shoot, but (to this point) hasn’t demonstrated much else. He’s not a horrible skater, but he’s also not fast, nor particular agile. And while I wouldn’t say he’s a defensive liability, I’m not sure he’s a last-minute-of-the-game kind of guy. Unfortunately the best place for a guy like that would have been, again 10 years ago, as the point shot on the power-play. Now, the trend is to more mobile, creative guys on the blueline, even on the power-play. He’ll need to find something else in his game to make it. I like Xhekaj. He’s a throwback. But that might be his biggest problem. Have patience. X wasn't drafted and everyone thought he's just an oversized worthless goon. A few years later he's showing promise as an NHLer. Number one is to learn how to play/think defense. That's enough for him to make it as a top 6. After that, it's bonus time. As for skating, he can become more agile which will help a lot. Both in bone cracking and defense. Nobody accused Chiarot of great skating, in fact, none of our elder defemseman are great skatets, yet they carved out a nice NHL career. I'd be thrilled if he's a 20-30 point defensive defenseman with extra bad dandruff. Patience. |
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Post by frozone on Sept 20, 2022 21:25:27 GMT -5
15 years ago Xhekaj would have been almost guaranteed a spot in the NHL. Heck, 10 years ago he probably would have had a spot in the NHL. Now? Not so sure. He may be a great fighter, but he’s gotta bring a lot more than that if he wants to play 15-18 minutes a game in the NHL. A lot more. One thing he does have going for him though is a booming shot. Which means that I don’t see him being the next Lyle Odelein, but more like the next Sheldon Souray. Like Souray, he’s a feared fighter who can shoot, but (to this point) hasn’t demonstrated much else. He’s not a horrible skater, but he’s also not fast, nor particular agile. And while I wouldn’t say he’s a defensive liability, I’m not sure he’s a last-minute-of-the-game kind of guy. Unfortunately the best place for a guy like that would have been, again 10 years ago, as the point shot on the power-play. Now, the trend is to more mobile, creative guys on the blueline, even on the power-play. He’ll need to find something else in his game to make it. I like Xhekaj. He’s a throwback. But that might be his biggest problem. Have patience. X wasn't drafted and everyone thought he's just an oversized worthless goon. A few years later he's showing promise as an NHLer. Number one is to learn how to play/think defense. That's enough for him to make it as a top 6. After that, it's bonus time. As for skating, he can become more agile which will help a lot. Both in bone cracking and defense. Nobody accused Chiarot of great skating, in fact, none of our elder defemseman are great skatets, yet they carved out a nice NHL career. I'd be thrilled if he's a 20-30 point defensive defenseman with extra bad dandruff. Patience. The X-Man's development over the past couple of years is what gives me lots of hope. The kid has been improving his game consistently for a while now, and he's putting in the work to establish himself as a legit prospect. His skating improved. His puck handling has been getting noticeably better, and his confidence in the offensive zone has been increasing. And I wonder if anyone remembers how disastrous his first NHL preseason game was, paired with Xavier Ouellette... well his second game was infinitely better. I loved that response and imo he has earned his contract. I think a lot of people are excited about Xhekaj, and I know that I am. But it doesn't mean that our expectations are all that high about his NHL ceiling. But man, I just want this kid to make it as a regular some day. He has improved his game so much while still taking his sheriff duties seriously. |
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Post by seventeen on Sept 20, 2022 22:00:30 GMT -5
Ok, we need a nickname for Xhekaj, because I can't remember where the 'h' and 'j' go most of the time. X-men might be a good start for ideas. Wolverine? Long, but apt.
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Post by Willie Dog on Sept 21, 2022 8:15:06 GMT -5
His initials are AX call him Axe...When he's in a fight they havev to play the DMX song X gonna give it to ya
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Post by seventeen on Sept 21, 2022 12:33:33 GMT -5
His initials are AX call him Axe...When he's in a fight they havev to play the DMX song X gonna give it to ya Axe is nice. Short, sharp, overpowering (the scent). |
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Post by Willie Dog on Sept 22, 2022 8:03:54 GMT -5
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Post by Cranky on Sept 22, 2022 19:33:50 GMT -5
Apparently they tied X-jsck and he pulled the west side of the arena off the foundation.
Insurance wont cover it because of negligence. Apparently tjey have a clause about tethering beasts.
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Post by Habs_fan_in_LA on Oct 5, 2022 10:44:26 GMT -5
Odelein comparison is close...but X is far bigger then him. Odeline was 5'11" and 200 vs 6'4" and 238. It's been decades since we had a home grown beast with anger mismanagement issues. Way back to Brashear, Kordic and Nylan for heavy duty fighters. In fact, none of them were this big unless you count Laraque. As for talent AND fightinng, way back to Furgeson. Habs management has to pull put every trick they have to improve and get this kid into our top 6 defense. Then enjoy a decade of muclear deterence. 15 years ago Xhekaj would have been almost guaranteed a spot in the NHL. Heck, 10 years ago he probably would have had a spot in the NHL. Now? Not so sure. He may be a great fighter, but he’s gotta bring a lot more than that if he wants to play 15-18 minutes a game in the NHL. A lot more. One thing he does have going for him though is a booming shot. Which means that I don’t see him being the next Lyle Odelein, but more like the next Sheldon Souray. Like Souray, he’s a feared fighter who can shoot, but (to this point) hasn’t demonstrated much else. He’s not a horrible skater, but he’s also not fast, nor particular agile. And while I wouldn’t say he’s a defensive liability, I’m not sure he’s a last-minute-of-the-game kind of guy. Unfortunately the best place for a guy like that would have been, again 10 years ago, as the point shot on the power-play. Now, the trend is to more mobile, creative guys on the blueline, even on the power-play. He’ll need to find something else in his game to make it. I like Xhekaj. He’s a throwback. But that might be his biggest problem. What I like most about X is his upside. He has less experience than any other guy on the roster and he continues to show improvement. Sign he will continue to improve. He fills a need in physical presence to earn a spot. He doesn’t need to carry around a doctors note saying he will grow. It’s easy to address his shortcomings with more playing time. He is coachable. Nice guy too as long as you aren’t playing against him. |
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