Florian Xhekaj Has Some Offensive Potential

Florian Xhekaj is the younger brother of Arber. He’s the same size, not as heavy, and plays left wing instead of defense. The Canadiens got Florian in the fourth round of the 2023 NHL Draft So far, he’s better than advertised. At the time he was a decent junior hockey player but never a top scorer or anything like that.

Xhekaj has pretty good hands around the net. He’s always there to work the puck off the wall to get to the net. He follows up his own shots well and he’s got the kind of frame to take the eyes away from the opposing netminder.

Related: Canadiens: Florian Xhekaj Will Play in the NHL in 2024

This season with Laval, he does have six goals and four assists in 27 games. That’s decent production. Couple that with good speed and you have a potential NHL player for years to come.

Xhekaj needs to get physically stronger. He’s only 20 so that’s going to happen. Then his physicality will pick up. He’s only getting less than 20% defensive zone starts and that’s telling. He needs to become a better two-way player like most young players, that's not a big deal.

I like Xhekaj can be a fourth-line player. If they want some scoring out of him, he can do that. If they’re looking for a spark, he’s your guy. If you want a player to go to the net, he’s it. If you get a fourth-line long-term out of a fourth-round pick, that’s a win no matter how you slice it.