What is Florian Xhekaj’s ceiling?
Florian Xhekaj is hoping to establish himself as a professional during the 2024-25 season. But what could he become for Montreal down the road?
The Montreal Canadiens are hoping that lightning will strike twice with the Xhekaj brothers, so they took out a flier on Arber's younger brother Florian.
Kent Hughes used his first of three fourth-round selections on Florian Xhekaj with pick 103. Xhekaj is fresh off his second season in the Ontario Hockey League, which saw him increase his point totals from 25 points in 68 games to 65 points in 63 games. If his point increase and confidence indicates anything, Xhekaj is only getting better.
It isn't likely that his first season will show how good he is going to become, but it will be a good measuring stick for him to know what areas he needs to improve. The good thing about Xhekaj's first season is that he has already shown a strong power-forward style that looks to be translateable to the professional level. His grittiness and nose for the net will be two positives for his debut season and his net-front presence will surely help him earn his keep.
What will prime Xhekaj look like?
Late bloomers are amongst the most difficult to project because they weren't expected to be as good as they are. But I can foresee Xhekaj being, at minimum, a fourth-line centre at the NHL level, who could slide into the top nine in a pinch. The problem with projecting Xhekaj is that it's rather unclear what he will become offensively.
He has Brendan Gallagher-esque qualities in that he plays hard between the whistles and is almost always in the opposing goalies' way. Xhekaj just happens to be six inches taller and 10+ pounds heavier and still growing. While he plays with an edge, you don't need to worry about him getting rag-dolled; as he is quite imposing.
If I had to gauge what I think Xhekaj can develop into, I would say a very good fourth-line centre with the potential to be a serviceable third-line centre. I think he will go through similar coaching as Arber, where he learns to pick his spots to fight and hit. You don't want to change too much about his game, because it is his identity, but cleaning up his decision-making and toning down his bulldog mentality will be of large benefit to him.
I think he has the potential to score 25-30 points this upcoming season, and if he makes it to the National Hockey League, I believe he could score in the 30-35 range.
manual