Florian Xhekaj has a real chance at the camp

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
Florian Xhekaj has a real chance at the camp
Credit: Patrick Guillet / X

What should we make of the Group B lines during practice?

Let's be honest: they aren't as easy to analyze as Group A's lines might be. Chris Kreider is on the first line, and no one doubts that.

But the last two lines—the guys from Group B? That's a different story.

If you ask me, we shouldn't be looking at lines—we should be looking at pairs. Alex Newhook and Jake Evans are a pair, just like Phillip Danault and Josh Anderson.

And if that's the case, it means there are two spots left to fill.

Kirby Dach, Zachary Bolduc, and Alexandre Texier are the other three regulars who play together. As I see it, they're competing for two spots on the roster right now.

After his playoff run, could Bolduc be left out of Game #1? I don't think so. So is it a race between Kirby Dach and Alexandre Texier for the 12th spot? Maybe, yes.

If I were Texier, I'd tell myself I have to give it my all to avoid being the 13th forward in Game #1 of the season. Because I don't know if Dach will be left out in September…

But in any case, they'll all be on the 23-man roster (barring an injury, of course) at the start of the season. And that's true even if they aren't necessarily part of the core group.

But there's also another possibility: Bolduc, Dach, and Texier battling for a spot (along with Evans and Newhook), with Florian Xhekaj playing alongside Josh Anderson and Phillip Danault.

We've seen it since the start of camp: they play well together. And we know that Anderson and Xhekaj can form a duo that's “tough to play against” on the ice.

Will the Habs go with 14 forwards? The coach doesn't like that, and neither does the GM (for salary cap reasons), in reality. That could cause some problems.

But we have to consider this: Xhekaj has a real shot at making the team in camp, and you can tell. If he performs well, the Habs will have to make room for him.

If you ask me, I think Xhekaj will start the season down in the minors (unless he's the MVP of camp), but he'll inevitably pose a “threat” to the others.

In what sense? Just as Jacob Fowler was a threat to goalies last year: when things weren't working out, they'd call up the kid from Laval to shake things up.


Quick Q&A

– Yes.

– Stay tuned.

– Read more.

– Interesting.

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