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Montreal Canadiens: Three Habs Prospects Raising Their Stock This Season

By Ken MacMillan

SAINT PETERSBURG, RUSSIA - 2022/09/26: Torpedo Hockey Club player, Bogdan Konyushkov (No.6) seen in action during the Kontinental Hockey League, regular season KHL 2022 - 2023 between SKA Saint Petersburg and Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod at the Ice Sports Palace.(Final score; SKA Saint Petersburg 3:0 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod). (Photo by Maksim Konstantinov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
SAINT PETERSBURG, RUSSIA - 2022/09/26: Torpedo Hockey Club player, Bogdan Konyushkov (No.6) seen in action during the Kontinental Hockey League, regular season KHL 2022 - 2023 between SKA Saint Petersburg and Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod at the Ice Sports Palace.(Final score; SKA Saint Petersburg 3:0 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod). (Photo by Maksim Konstantinov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) /
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WINDSOR, ONTARIO – FEBRUARY 04: Forward Florian Xhekaj. (Photo by Dennis Pajot/Getty Images)
WINDSOR, ONTARIO – FEBRUARY 04: Forward Florian Xhekaj. (Photo by Dennis Pajot/Getty Images) /

Florian Xhekaj

Another player that was drafted in 2023 by the Canadiens, and had many fans and draft pundits scratching their heads was Florian Xhekaj. Like Konyushkov, he was also eligible to be drafted in the 2022 NHL Draft but did not get selected.

That is because Xhekaj was not even playing in the OHL in his draft season, but in an Ontario Junior league a step below the OHL. He did lead his team in scoring, though he did not light up the league with 40 points in 48 games, but it was not enough to get the attention of the NHL.

Last season, in his 18 year old Junior season, Xhekaj joined the Hamilton Bulldogs, where his older brother Arber had played the previous season and helped win an OHL championship. Florian played a similar gritty, hard nosed style and scored 13 goals and 25 points in 68 games while adding another goal and three points in six playoff games.

Those are not exactly the type of offensive numbers that scream NHL prospect, especially when you consider he is already past his initial draft season. The selection was mostly mocked online after it was made, as many fans could not imagine him turning into an NHL player and they saw the pick as a favour to older brother Arber who was never drafted.

Well, Florian is showing an offensive side to his game that no one could have predicted this season. In 20 games he has scored 11 goals, nearly matching all of last year’s already, and he has 18 points, putting him just under a point per game pace.

No one expected this kind of offensive output from Xhekaj this season. His points per game is about 2.5 times higher than it was last season, and while you expect players to score more as they get older, no one takes that kind of a leap from one year to the next. It has been a shocking offensive breakout from Xhekaj that turns him from questionable draft pick to potential pain-in-the-neck third line winger in the future for the Canadiens.

Next. Habs Suddenly Have Plethora Of Great Goalie Prospects. dark

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