Florian Xhekaj

Novemeber 2023 – Well, if there’s one thing to bet on with a Xhekaj, it’s that they’ll have a ridiculous development curve. Florian Xhekaj is a completely different player than he was last year, and while he still has several flaws in his game, he has made a ton of progress. Pushing towards a PPG in his D+2 season, the tools are there for Xhekaj to become an effective bottom-sixer. However, seeing the progress he has already made, and contrasting it with his older brothers’ development, maybe there’s something else there that we haven’t quite seen yet. Aaron Itovitch

July 2023 – Nobody at Bridgestone Arena expected Florian Xhekaj to be drafted in the fourth round, except for Canadiens management. The overager OHL bottom-sixer’s first year in Major Junior saw him put up far under a half a point-per-game, and no stat truly glares off the point sheet other than PIM’s (and a worrying +/-). The Canadiens are clearly hoping for a logic-defying development curve, similar to Florian’s older brother Arber, but using a fourth round pick on Florian can only truly be described as a nepotism pick. He likely would have been available deep into the draft, and possibly wouldn’t have been drafted at all. We will see how Xhekaj performs in his D+2 in Brantford, but as it stands right now, it is hard to imagine him being anything more than a low-impact NHL bottom-sixer. Aaron Itovitch