From COSTCO To The NHL - The Arber Xhekaj Story
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- čas přidán 7. 12. 2022
- If you were to ask the hockey world who Arber Xhekaj was before this season began, most people would have no idea who you were talking about, yet he has somehow forced his way onto an NHL roster during the current 22/23 season.
So who is Xhekaj and how has he done it? How has he defied the odds and earned a place in the show? Well let's take a look at his unlikely journey to the league and find out, shall we?
This is the story of Arber Xhekaj, from Costco to the NHL!
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The guy really wanted to play for the Montreal Canadiens. He admitted receiving an invite from the Florida Panthers but passed on in hope to get a call from the Montreal Canadiens. The rest is history. I love the guy, he is a great model of tenacity and perseverance. I hope he gets the Masterton.
Could you imagine him and Tkachuk? Good lord.
@@IHateMyAccountName bi-tkachuk-ch
even as a rookie, he brings the physical play that Montreal needs
He DESERVES every minute on the ice (and box) he gets. Great story for a great kid.
He passed on the free state of Florida for Canada? Wow.
Regardless of skill, he’s got a killer name.
« X gonna give it to ya » fits him perfectly 😅
He has underrated skills too, he's got some nifty mitts, his passes are almost always hard and right on tape, and he has a knack to shoot the puck through traffic and hit the net. He's not a goon/a fighter, he's a legit NHL player that also happens to drop the gloves.
@@tikev628 oh I wasn’t discounting his skill; I was just remarking on how sick his name is. There’s no doubt that he’s talented.
And nickname! Wifi!!!! Lol
Black Eye From JackEye
I find it so cool that since being undrafted by both leagues, he jumped straight from the OHL to a pretty stable spot in the NHL without playing any games in the AHL. That's gotta be pretty rare right?
Yeah, even Markov was returned to AHL during the season after securing his spot at training camp.
even rarer for a defenseman
He works hard and is proving his worth. I hope he has a great long career with my favourite team.
Goosebumps .... so appreciative of all he has. He earned it, he deserves it. Proud of your parents as well. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy your NHL career.
Love the new Habs look with Suzuki, Caufield, Dach, Sasquatch, Harris,Ghule and WIFI. Imagine, at some point the Habs had 3 rookie defenceman…This guy’s story is inspiring for everyone. Growing as a player, human being and beast. He made his way on 2nd PP and is on a world tour with his fists while being a tough honest 2 way defenceman. He ain’t going anywhere, already a fan favourite. GHG
fuck yeah!!!!!!!!! you forgot slav and honda civic!!!!!excluding the goalies,we got like 10 guys 6'2 and over plus chewbaka whos 6'1 but 238... i would never though saying that one day but i think the habs are gonna surprise everybody by lowkey bringing back ol time hockey in that new fast and fragile league!!!!!
They've had 4 rookie defensemen for a lot of the season, you're forgetting Kovacevic
@@tylergervais3207 yes you are right, 4 rookies on defence…that is a lot.
@@breaka1 Slav is Slavsquatch, sorry auto correct.
@@ferociousfil5747 fuck auto correct!!!!! I LOVE IT SLAVSQUASH!!!!!!!! thats so perfect hahahahahaha
It shows how the Habs management was looking for a young strong and rough player to grow along Suzuki and Caufield to protect them. Kudos to them for getting him to their training camp! thanks for the video.
I love seeing him on Defense for this team. He’s that player this team has been missing for a long while, the big physically aggressive dman with offensive talent. I’m
So glad he went hard to
Get his spot. He will be a Alternate cap soon enough
Not that 6'2 196 is small but he's now 6'4 240... that's nuts.
Glad you did this video. Xhekaj will be a NHL regular . Every time he’s not in the lineup Montreal gets blown out. He is on the second PP. He is a steal and then some.
Most exciting new player in the league this season hands down. Love this kid!
Now I want a movie about his path to the NHL.. would make for an excellent hockey movie
He certainly is one of the best surprises in Montreal this year. Besides, his coach, Martin Saint-Louis, has never been drafted neither, and he is now a hall-of-famer. I think Xhekaj will be an asset to this team for many years to come.
One of my favorite habs this year. He cares so much and his play has been pretty decent. Love the stache too
teams need guys w his mentality
I love this guy
I watched him play for the Kitchener Rangers a couple of times while visiting my in-laws. He got in a couple of fights and gave us a good show. Great guy
I just love that guy! What a great story! Thank you for this video!!
One of the coolest and best hockey names of all time
This guy deserves every bit praise, what an awesome story. To me he is the 4 th best dman on the habs rn, I don’t see him losing his spot anytime soon, his intangibles are worth their weight in gold. I see him securing himself a second contract. Especially if he keeps working at it like he has shown. Insane.
So awesome
Way to go kid!!!! The Canadian hockey dream!!!!! Best of luck in the future!!! Stay safe and stay healthy!!!! God bless!!!!
After his tenure in the AHL this season post his injury, I believe I can confidently say he will be keeping a roster spot on the canadiens. He has proven a reliable blue liner since his return, and as of recent he has cleaned up a lot of his unnecessary penalties outside of fights of course. Along with showing off his immense and powerful shot hitting a shot speed of over 105 mph during a game. He is certainly one of my favorite players to watch in this league and how quickly he has progressed is truly astonishing.
Pardon my language...but I'm so fucking proud of this kid and what he's brought to the current Habs roster. Arber Xhakej brings excitement back to Bell Centre. He's an enforcer but he's also a great defenceman as well as a very good scorer.
Power to Montreal !
Great story, The Sherriff didn't let any obstacles stopping him, to realize his dream.
He has done absolutely nothing, you are delusional.
So far he is still improving. One of the best kept secret in the NHL, one of a kind. He will be turning to become one of the best d’aman in the NHL. Love this guy. He has no fear.
"Jackeye" sounds badass
The thing I like most about Xhekaj is that because he has made such steady, incremental progress, never facing a challenge he didn't eventually overcome, we still have NO IDEA where his ceiling is. With self-belief, determination, and a willingness to put in the long hours of hard work (plus having the right genetic gifts to make him an ideal hockey player in the first place), the sky's the limit for the X-man (who, believe it or not, is the very first person to play in the NHL with a surname beginning with the letter X). If he keeps on this trajectory, I see no reason why he couldn't be *Dustin Byfuglien's* heir apparent in the NHL, a big, mean, hitting and scoring machine (and trust me, I don't make that comparison lightly...I think Buff is one-of-a-kind, and yet Xhekaj may put that belief to the test).
He has the speed, the build, the poise (man, he does not seem to mind high-pressure situations, making clutch passes in tight quarters), and a willingness to throw his weight around...the only major difference is that Big Buff heavily relied on his booming slap shot, while Xhekaj seems to prefer (so far at least) a fast (and extremely precise) wrist shot. Not that he can't rip it...maybe it's just that he hasn't got the slap shot down to a point where he is confident it is both accurate and repeatable, but he knows that his wrist shot is both...thus, as he keeps working, perhaps even this small difference between the players disappears.
He's ceiling is 200 point seasons on the bruins only tho after he rejects a 8 year 5 million dollar deal from Montreal for a league minimum 7 year deal from the bruins and the bruins will be so deep at this point that this 200 point a season player will be a heathly scratch when we're fully healthy
Xhehaj's ceiling isn't as high as you are!!!!
@@rimothytooltarski4459 lol😅
Il y aura toujours une place pour lui ici, we are blessed, we love him and I think he's happy here
His shot is incredibly deceptive, it is a short tight snapper that comes comes into his body as he releases. If developed, it could be a 5-10 goal a season type of shot for a bruiser, hitting, 3rd line defencemen. That is pretty big.
5 goals? He has 4 already in 24 games, in his rookie season.
@@MrTheMark21 I said 5-10 goals per season, which is not a bad average at all for a 2nd or third pairing dman, and a single hot start does not mean you start wildly projecting 15-20. Yes he has 4, but it is unlikely he is going to maintain a scoring pace of 15 goals for the season unless he is given more deployment
I only knew about him because he played most of his junior hockey for the Kitchener Rangers... still didn't know how to pronounce his name until this season
This kid is doing great. Great find for the Habs
I love Arber
X gon' give it to ya!
Through his brief time in Hamilton, I knew this guy would make it to the show and be an impact player.
I just didn't think it'd happen so soon.
saw him in Kitchener. He was a big tought guy but not an impactful player.
Great story. Good thing his talent won't be wasted as a Toronto Maple Leaf. Go Habs Go!
Talent!? 😂😅😂😂 what a clown. Not nearly good enough to play on the Leafs, he's an AHL player anywhere but Montreal, you guys are out of your minds.
He has quickly become one of my favorite player! Let's go Wi-Fi
What about if John cena joined the nhl u think a team might sign him he stooped wrestling I think he's not good but he should just be on a team to be a lockerroom guy he can play 4th line minutes I don't know if he can skate he's from Massachusetts so I wouldn't be surprised if he atleast knows how probably isn't good tho but like a team that's tanking could use him nobody could see him either he could just cherry pick and be a extra skater on the ice without anybody knowing
Love this kid, he’s in the BIG LEAGUE NHL to stay my friend, we absolutely love this kid in Montreal and so do the rest of the NHL teams who didn’t draft him 😂😂😂 just bought my #72 HABS jersey!
He was amazing in Hamilton
I like this guys.
Montreal coach, Martin Saint-Louis, did not pass from the NHL draft, he got to fight to get in that league and he got a crazy good career, hope same for Xhekaj....
St.louis is how his name is spelt the guy with his name spelt like Saint was a career ahler with maybe 50 nhl games
@@lilwoodiewood3457 You are right, St is the abbreviation of Saint, this is french stuff, we use both for name of city, should not do this for name of people.
What a dude ... A fantastic story.
Amazing video
I hope he’ll stay in Montreal for his whole career!
It's gonna be a short one, mark my words.
Leaf fan here. I knew I was going to like this kid after seeing him for the first time. The guys a good pro.
I truly believe that for every player in the NHL there's someone just as good working average jobs.
Hamilton Bulldogs LEGEND 🐶🐶🐶
i’ve seen him in person before he got drafted
Excellent Video.
Amazing story. The guys a legend already
John cena could beat him up he's 255 pounds and only 6 foot 1 and he's all muscle and he once beat up Mike Tyson for boxing champ in Tysons prime and he punched out hulk hogan and John scott at the same time in a weedwhacker boxing 2 on 1 fight ( its a normal boxing fight but in a cage that is covered in weedwhackers that are running nonstop that's why hulk hogan is bald cena punched him so hard the 300 pound hogan flew from one side of the cage to the next and hit his head on a weedwhacker .. John Scott would've been drafted 1st overall and been better then Connor McDavid if it wasn't for this fight cena hit him and John fell and broke his leg in 88 places from cenas punch
what?
the?
fuck?
A living legend ?? twenty games and he is a legend ?? , what does that make Connor Mcdavid or Wayne Gretzky ? ..Gods i guess.
@@northlander4370 man even kurtis Gabriel is a legend and hall of fame worthy with these standards your being generous with gretzky here .. a guy like Luke schenn is a God with this bar orr and McDavid made God tho .. gretzky is the son of the guy who mad God his real first name is Xtreme-Jesus-Xr5000e Pro Verison
@@lilwoodiewood3457 what the hell are you talking about ?
You know your team is exciting where even when we take humiliating losses, you still tune it to see these rookies playing.
Give him 1-2 seasons, no big injuries and consistent plays and that kid gonna be a GOAT.
I love him so far. For someone of his skill set to want to join Montreal is a dream come true.
Damn I love hockey
Amazing story but what an amazing video
That Guy reminds me of both Chris Nylan and Chris Pronger
I hope WiiFii stays with the Habs , we need this guy . But things happen and some players move on to other teams , business move. I`ll always be a Xhekaj fan , I love his story , love his style and I dare say that any team in the NHL wouldn`t mind having him . I think he`ll be in the League for long time . Everyone knows there`s a new Sheriff in town now and he plays for the Hab`s .
great story.. fun guy to watch play..
2:15 KITCHENERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR My hometown
Nice video, you should do David Perron road to NHL has he is the most notable player to have made the NHL playing in really low Bantam category
And he’s already got a record. Only player to have a last name that stars with an X
What about if John cena joined the nhl u think a team might sign him he stooped wrestling I think he's not good but he should just be on a team to be a lockerroom guy he can play 4th line minutes I don't know if he can skate he's from Massachusetts so I wouldn't be surprised if he atleast knows how probably isn't good tho but like a team that's tanking could use him nobody could see him either he could just cherry pick and be a extra skater on the ice without anybody knowing
@@lilwoodiewood3457 arber got 8 pts chill out.
@@davidhoffmusic John cena tho
@@lilwoodiewood3457 And he'd be the second player to have a last name that starts with an X! Zhong Xina 🇨🇳🫡
That's not a record.
I remember watching him against Windsor in the OHL finals. He was a beast. Booed him mercilessly
This is not a therapy session
@@Samlevine111 will you give me therapy here can I tell u about my problems and will u give me support u know I love u Andy and I think your really cool and special and that u desvere everything u want Including the one thing we both know your thinking about and that is me to shut up
@@lilwoodiewood3457 Cringe
@@Samlevine111 cringe was your comment buddy. Take his comment and act like a champ ;)
He is a force to reckon with and a definite asset to the Habs.
I like this player
Haha My OHL team is the Guelph Storm (the rangers are pretty much our arch enemy) and my NHL team is the Leafs but I love Xhekaj it's hard not to love a story like his.
Man, I had heard bits and pieces of his story but never the full one till now. What a great story!
The rough around the edges tough guy with an impressive work ethic and an undeniable love for the game making his own feel good story happen… as a hockey fan you gotta love and respect that!
You want a black eye ! Fight with Xhekaj !
Luv these massive size underdogs!
Great on Wifi, the Habs should take a look at his brother Florian playing in Hamilton.
Great story. He has a lot of haters already too, which is funny as hell. Everyone would love to have him in his favorite team!
He belongs with the habs! Such a great player to add to the roster
I’m a leafs fan and still gunna buy the kids jersey. His story is what it’s all about.
Uncle Tom
I got video the title right!
Leading scoring D
When he tossed cassion around, I said, who's this fucking guy? He's won me over. GHG!
People at Costco are going to hate themselves for not backing that kid up with everything they had lol.
He looks more like he came from the adult film industry.
no, that's Mathews. Get it straight
@@gottohaveitnow100 Matthews should be doing sponsored videos for Keeps.
He's determined as he// and the king of rag dolling opponents now!
how would he do against Ryan Reaves , dont forget , Reaves is a skilled fighter .
Rumor has it When he attended camp in Kitchener the coach couldn't figure out how to pronounce his name. So instead of calling him Arber they called him Al. As in Al Arbour. When someone asked me how to pronounce his name I would say pronounce it backwards
The Sheriff.
The XMan has skill to go with his physical side; Bulldogs used him in shoot outs last year.
Dudes got as much heart as Motte! With a more interesting story
A Brithish hockey fan? Whoa!
why did kitchener choose to leave him undefeated?
Xhekaj sounds like DJACK EYE.
Working class hero
The managers who fired him from Costco probably hated or didn't know anything about hockey. The same managers are probably in shock and disbelief...
with Xkej as enforcer the Habs as a goalie from being the Habitual Champions again
So bergy recruited him
So I asked a guy in Costco where the Kirkland coffee was....
Dude dropped his gloves and started chasing me while screaming, "TIMMY'S!"
No idea what his problem was...
Modest numbers this season, he's 1st in goals for rookie defenseman and 21st in rookies for points. LOL, expect Edmundson to get moved and make room.
Arbs is Gansta
Stay in Montreal 👍❤️😎
Challenge: You can only say "the show" once per video.
Call him Big X
im curious to know how a guy with such a thick English accent loves hockey so much lol
He's in the show to stay
That's NOT how you make a first impression. You make a first impression the first time that people see you. This player has a lot of potential...too bad that he's on the SCABS.
Not spectacular, but steady ..... and tough but not crazy. Looks better than many Leaf D-men for sure. Not a huge ceiling but will be a great team guy for the Habs for 10-15 years.
I wonder what the Costco manager that fired him thinks now!
Him and Guhle are Montreal future !