Montreal Canadiens: Arber Xhekaj Has Successful Return From Suspension (Again)

The Montreal Canadiens signed Arber Xhekaj after a strong rookie camp this past offseason was followed up by a strong training camp leading up to the 2021-22 season.

The 20 year old defenceman showed an incredible amount of poise and smarts on the ice, considering he was not drafted at 18 and especially because he did not play a game last season as a 19 year old.

The OHL was shut down for the year and players like Xhekaj just lost a year of development at a crucial time. But it doesn’t appear to have affected him all that much.

When Xhekaj is in the lineup for the Kitchener Rangers he is a dominating presence. He is 6’3″ and 204 pounds and plays a very physical style on the back end. He is also a smooth skater who can move the puck up ice, make smart reads and jump into the play when it makes sense. Oh, and he has a bomb of a shot from the point.

Xhekaj has played 17 games this season and has scored five goals and 15 points. There are only two defensemen in the OHL scoring more than a point per game, so Xhekaj is not far off the pace of the highest scorers in the league.

However, he has played a lot less games.

The Hamilton, Ontario native has been suspended twice so far by the OHL. One suspension was certainly deserved. The second…. seemed a little weak and the timing of it all was extremely odd.

Xhekaj was suspended back in October for five games for a slew foot. It was absolutely the right call as a frustrated Xhekaj could have severely injured his opponent with the maneuver.

Early in December, Xhekaj was suspended once again. This time it was for a gesture he made after knocking an opponent out in a fight. There is a bit of history between the Kitchener Rangers and Owen Sound Attack and the Attack player Mark Woolley fought a Rangers player during Xhekaj’s first suspension. After winning the fight, against a non-fighter, Woolley celebrated by skating by the Rangers bench, taunting them and shouting “who’s next?”

As it turned out, Xhekaj was next and he knocked Woolley unconscious with a hard right hand.

After the fight, Xhekaj would make a “sleeping” gesture which the OHL did not take kindly. The odd thing though, is Xhekaj was allowed to play the next game two nights later before then being “suspended indefinitely.”

Indefinitely became three games, though that was not immediately communicated to his team.

Xhekaj returned to the Rangers lineup on Friday night and was immediately effective once again.

Although, he did get called for a checking to the head in the first period that the OHL will likely take a long look at…. we just don’t know how many more games Xhekaj will play before he is “suspended indefinitely” once again.

Of course, the contact on the play is very minimal. It’s almost like the replay is in slow motion even when it is not. The referee did not immediately react but the player that was hit did look injured (briefly) so the ref called a minor penalty for delay of game.

Calling a minor penalty on that play is totally fine, and the brief delay by the referee is not a big deal as he is just assessing the whole play. But with the history here you never know what the league might do.

After returning to the ice, Xhekaj hit the scoresheet. The Rangers are on a power play late in the second period and one of their forwards knocks the puck out of a scrum in the corner. Xhekaj jumps up on the loose puck, knocks it to the middle of the ice where he has more room to retrieve it, and then fires a wrist shot by the goaltender from a great shooting area.

He added an assist in the third period. It is late in the third period and the team isn’t on a power play but they do have their goalie pulled for an extra attacker. Xhekaj (#6) is on the point and gets the puck. Once again he quickly darts toward the middle of the ice to get a better shooting angle and fires a wrist shot to the net. This one is tipped on its way and the game was tied.

The Rangers would lose in extra time but Xhekaj’s goal and assist helped them earn a point and keep pace at the bottom of the playoff race in the OHL standings. Xhekaj’s presence in the lineup has been a big help for the Rangers, so let’s hope he can stay in the lineup the rest of the season.