The Xhekaj Brothers
So now, finally we get to the Xhekaj brothers, Arber and Florian. They both fight, they both hit, they both intimidate, and yet they both have found success so far in their young careers.
There are so few enforcers left in the league. Ryan Reeves might be the only true name left, and even then he is a veteran that is near the end of his career.
There are players like Tom Wilson, who plays a rough and tumble style, but also puts up good offensive numbers. There are pest players who get under the skin of opponents, but generally do that with hard noses and hard working rather than fighting or hitting. Think Brendan Gallagher or Brad Marchand. But I don't think anyone could call those types a goon.
Matt Rempe is an interesting case for the Rangers, and shows the danger of having a goon on the team. Rempe has been suspended many times over a short period of time, and has struggled to stay with the Rangers in the NHL.
But the thing is, he has promise. He's 6'9 and has a long stick. Those are two admirable qualities from screening the goalie to using a huge reach defensively to break up plays.
Like Zdeno Chara, one of the biggest NHL players of all time. But he wasn't a goon, he just could skate very well for a man of his size and new how to use his size and stick to his advantage. If Rempe learns those skills and stays away from dirty plays, he might turn into something.
And that is something that Arber and Florian Xhekaj have in common that they don't share with the enforcers of the past and present like Rempe or Torres: they aren't dirty players. Arber has not been suspended at the NHL level, although he was fined in the preseason.
And the elder Xhekaj is a more cerebral player than you might think from an enforcer. When I interviewed him right after being signed to the Canadiens, he had this to say:
"Yeah definitely. Playing in those two NHL games it’s definitely an awakening to see how much attention to detail you need to have there. I’m obviously a bigger guy and can handle myself in that respect, but it’s just building the attention to detail part of the game, knowing where guys they are and always reading what hands they shoot and which sides they are coming down and all kinds of stuff like that."Arber Xhekaj
Xhekaj has dimensions to his game, and it isn't all just about laying the body, which is why he has had such success at the NHL level. Because the Xhekaj brothers don't just look to hit and instigate physically, but to shut down opponents in any way necessary.
Florian Xhekaj has found a way to put his strengths to use in the offensive zone by setting up in front of the net and being almost impossible to move from there. He has an active stick for tipping and moves to block the goalie's line of sight.
So perhaps calling the Xhekaj brothers the last of a dying breed is not the most accurate. Sure, they are unique in their time, but they aren't the final breath of the goon, but the evolution into something different.