Martin St-Louis makes an important statement about Arber Xhekaj that speaks volumes about his intentions with him
Following another strong performance by young defenseman Arber Xhekaj, who scored two points, including his first career NHL goal, Martin St-Louis made an important statement about him.
That's what he's showing us. I remember Joel Bouchard liked to use the expression "hockey player" to praise a player. A great compliment from a coach."
- Reported by Patrick Friolet, RDS
The same was true for TVA Sports reporter Renaud Lavoie, who reported the same information.
There is no denying that the big defender has immense raw potential and has a huge capacity to learn quickly. In addition to being a terror physically, being able to play very hard against opposing players and obviously knowing how to defend himself and his teammates very well, Xhekaj is much more than a tough guy.
The 21-year-old defenseman has a lot of underrated offensive potential that could develop into a complete defenseman in the NHL.
With a statement like St. Louis made yesterday, it's clear that the head coach is really starting to see Xhekaj as a regular NHL defenseman. It says a lot about his intentions with him.
If the Czech-Canadian defenseman was possibly the first player out of the lineup when Joel Edmundson or Michael Matheson came back from injury, it doesn't seem so easy to take Xhekaj out of the lineup anymore.
The internal competition on the defensive squad is shaping up to be more fierce than expected and that's fine.
Credit: Habs & LNH
| POLL | ||
Are you surprised by the caliber of play of Arber Xhekaj since the beginning of the season? | ||
| Yes | 194 | 71.6 % |
| No | 77 | 28.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
