When things were going bad for Arber Xhekaj, we talked about it.
That said, we also have to talk about his good times. And lately, things are going really well for the Canadian defender.
He’s been playing the right way for a few matches and it’s evident!
What has changed in the Sheriff’s mentality?
He was on TSN 690 earlier today and there was a sentence that caught my attention.
It is as follows:
You don’t need to stand out, you don’t need to do anything crazy. You keep it simple and you defend. –Arber Xhekaj
Xhekaj has understood that he doesn’t necessarily have to make the big play or apply a solid check to be useful on the ice and that’s what I find particularly interesting.
It’s part of the learning process, you might say, but it indicates that the defender is gaining maturity:
The defender admits that he doesn’t know where the ceiling is in terms of his potential… But in my eyes, that’s not important.
Because as long as he continues to perform well on the ice, he will improve.
Note also that Xhekaj took advantage of his appearance on the radio to praise the physical qualities of Emil Heineman.
The latter – to use the words of the Sheriff – is afraid of nothing… And in the last game against the Ducks, Heineman even allowed himself to disturb Radko Gudas.
We know that Gudas is not a little guy and that he does not hesitate before throwing in his gloves:
We knew that Arber Xhekaj was a project and that he was not going to become great overnight.
But we can clearly see his progress at the moment because the defender, without making too much noise, is starting to become an important element in Martin St-Louis’ training.
So much the better. Especially if it can continue like this!
In burst
– Gorgeous.
– I can’t wait to see that.
– Logic.
– There might be a stir in New York.
