The Canadian | Arber Xhekaj or the determination of a stubborn

In the guest list at the Canadiens rookie camp, there were 11 players present with a simple test contract. From the lot, a name stood out, but not for sporting reasons. That name was Arber Xhekaj.

Guillaume Lefrançois
Press

In two weeks, he went from the guy who gave anxiety to the descriptors of the matches to a hope in due form of the Canadian. Of the 11 guests, he is the only one to have left Montreal with a contract in his pocket.

“If someone is just close to the correct pronunciation of my name, that’s enough to make me super happy!” », Launches the defender, at the end of the line, in Kitchener.

Let us first set aside the question that everyone is asking themselves. His last name is pronounced “Jack-aïl”. Her father is from Kosovo, her mother is from the Czech Republic. He was born in Canada. He never set foot in Kosovo, but when he was younger he went to the Czech Republic “every other summer”. So much so that he partially understands the language, which he demonstrated to Jan Mysak, another Canadian prospect, at camp.

“He was quite surprised to see that I knew a little more than the basics! », Reveals Xhekaj.

Rough play

You don’t have to watch him play for a long time to understand that he’s not afraid of toughness. In his two games against the Ottawa Senators prospects in rookie camp, he stepped up his shoulders, and even had to drop the gloves.

It’s a style that the 20-year-old fully embraces, because he seems well aware of his identity as a player.

“When I was younger, I mostly watched Drew Doughty, Erik Karlsson, the talented defenders,” he says. But there is only one guy like them per team in the NHL. As I got older I started to look at Ben Chiarot, Jake Muzzin, strong guys who make simple games, who are tough and have a great career. ”

However, this should not be seen as a one-dimensional player, warns Mike McKenzie, his head coach in Kitchener. McKenzie knows all about that, since the Rangers rely on one of the OHL’s most important data analysis services.

The statistics where it stands out?

“The exits of zone in possession of the puck, the entries of zone of the adversary neutralized, the clearances which it causes in the adversary, enumerates McKenzie. He doesn’t have tons of points, but I think it’s going to go up a lot this year because he will play on the power play and he will get a lot of playing minutes. ”Plus, he will be one of the oldest players in the league. league, one might add.

It appears that Marc Bergevin has taken it into his head to build a strong and robust defense as desired. “It was nice to see in the playoffs,” Xhekaj remembers.

Knowing that, when it came time to choose which invite to accept, it was clear to him that his chances were better with the Canadian than with the other teams courting him.

And then there was also a more sentimental reason. “My dad is a Canadiens fan and he made me a fan! ”

Never drafted, nowhere

If we talk about an invitation to camp, you will understand that it is because he was never drafted in the NHL. In fact, even in the OHL, he was not drafted. He showed up at the Kitchener camp at age 17, and got a job.

It wasn’t all perfect, however. In his first game in rookie camp, he had been pushed around a few times. We also remember more difficult times during his first game of the preseason schedule in Toronto.

“Those two games were his worst,” McKenzie confirms. He had to adjust to this level of play. Sometimes it can be difficult for guest players. They come into a locker room and say, “Wow, Shea Weber is here!” ”

“The game in Toronto is still unclear,” admits Xhekaj. It seemed like a dream to me. See John Tavares on the ice… You are younger, you play mini-hockey with your brother and you think you are him. I take a lot of inspiration from Jake Muzzin, so it was crazy coming face to face with him. ”

Costco and landscaping

In short, Xhekaj did not let himself be defeated, and he rolled up his sleeves, as he always has done in life when faced with obstacles. Take the 2020-2021 season, canceled in the OHL. What did our man do? He took a job at Costco, where his mother works, as well as for a landscaping company.

“My mom said to me, ‘If you’re going to train all year round, it’s going to be expensive. You have to help us. ” I am really grateful that I did. It opened my eyes, I saw what it is, customer service. All young people should do this! I got yelled at by customers, it was a good life experience and it confirmed to me that what I want to do in life is play hockey. ”

It is now with this attitude that he tackles his last season in the junior ranks, where his coach hopes he will inspire his teammates.

“Our other players now know that not being drafted doesn’t mean it’s the end,” notes McKenzie. He ended up getting a contract thanks to his persistence. “