Xhekaj made quite a move at the end of his fight against Massicotte, and it went unnoticed
PUBLICATION
Jeff Drouin
September 21, 2022 (0:08)
As you know, the Montreal Canadiens' rookie camp has just concluded, while the main camp officially starts tomorrow. We can't wait!
Some of the young players, who were at the rookie camp and who stood out, will also be present at the CH's main camp.
This is notably the case of giant defenseman Arber Xhekaj, who made a good impression in the last few days and had some great moments.
He did a lot of good things and he really seems to be proving that he has what it takes to be a regular NHL defenseman one day.
Last night, during his column on TVA Sports (with JiC), journalist Renaud Lavoie came to Xhekaj's defense.
Why did he do so? Xhekaj has received his share of harsh criticism in the last few days, with some already trying to identify him as a "bastard" and "dangerous" player,
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Xhekaj is already hated by his opponents, and in particular, some Ottawa Senators rookies have not been shy to publicly flay him.
"It's a low blow. You can ask anybody in this room, there's not a lot of respect for this guy and the way he carries himself to be quite frank. He's hated." - Angus Crookshank
And there are several other such comments.
Yet, as Lavoie mentions, Xhekaj made a nice gesture of sportsmanship, and it's completely overlooked.
Take a good look at what Xhekaj does at the end of his fight with Zachary Massicotte (a fight that made the rounds on the web):
As Lavoie points out, yes Xhekaj clearly had the upper hand on his opponent, but at the end of his fight, he held Massicotte back, to prevent him from hitting his head too hard on the ice.
"Look what he's going to do, Arber, he's going to hold him, so that his opponent doesn't hit his head on the ice, he holds him back a little bit, so that there's not an additional injury." - Renaud Lavoie
A very nice comment, and it says a lot about Xhekaj. He's tough and physical, but he's a class act.
Clearly a name to watch in the coming days.
Previously on HabsFanatics
| POLL |
21 SEPTEMBRE | 299 ANSWERS Xhekaj made quite a move at the end of his fight against Massicotte, and it went unnoticed Who do you compare Arber Xhekaj to? |
| Alexei Emelin | 105 | 35.1 % |
| Ben Chiarot | 90 | 30.1 % |
| Other | 104 | 34.8 % |
| LIST OF POLLS |
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