Montreal Canadiens: Arber Xhekaj Takes the Road Less Traveled to NHL Contract

The Montreal Canadiens training camp is starting to wind down and though there have not been many surprises over the past two weeks, one player certainly made a name for himself out of nowhere.

That is Arber Xhekaj. A name so unfamiliar some longtime Habs fans thought there might be a type on the training camp roster when they saw it for the first time.

Now, Xhekaj is a name we are going to have to get used to seeing because he should in the Canadiens organization for a long time.

The 20 year old left defenceman signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Canadiens yesterday. From out of nowhere, Xhekaj showed he should have been drafted in one of the past two NHL Drafts. Instead, he was passed over and then invited to join the Canadiens at their rookie camp in September. He impressed there and was then invited to join the team at their main training camp as well.

His progress didn’t slow down against the tougher competition. The 6’4″ and 225 pound defender displayed a combination of size and speed that gives him all the tools to be a steady defender at the NHL level someday in the not too distant future.

It won’t be this season, as he was also sent back to the Ontario Hockey League’s Kitchener Rangers. Xhekaj will be an overaged defender in the OHL this season and if he can continue to play at the level he did at Canadiens camp, he should be a force at the Junior level.

The Hamilton, Ontario native did not play last season as the OHL was shutdown for the year. He scored six goals and 17 points in 51 games in the 2018-19 season as an 18 year old and should move those career highs up this season.

Xhekaj still has lots of room to grow his game, but that’s why he is being sent to the OHL. He was undoubtedly the biggest surprise at Canadiens camp and we all be hearing more from him at next year’s training camp when his unique name won’t catch anyone by surprise.