Florian Xhekaj: Anthony Martineau sees him starting on the third line

Raphael Simard
Florian Xhekaj: Anthony Martineau sees him starting on the third line
Credit: X

One of the big questions of this training camp is whether Florian Xhekaj will start the season in Montreal.

It's not that he doesn't deserve it, but there are a lot of forwards on the team, and it will be tough for him to earn a spot.

Anthony Martineau, however, believes in the young player. He sees him starting the season on a third line, alongside Alex Newhook and Zachary Bolduc.

If he were the coach, he'd have Alex Texier and Kirby Dach as his 13th and 14th forwards.

Seeing #63 in the top nine could be very interesting. Whoever forms a line with Newhook and Bolduc would have two NHL-caliber linemates, which could help him. Newhook is fast, and Bolduc is a sniper. With the tenacity of the younger Xhekaj brother and his aggressiveness in forechecking, that could create space for his two linemates.

The guys at HFTV see him on a fourth line, though.

That means Martineau would keep seven defensemen (Lane Hutson, Noah Dobson, Mike Matheson, Alex Carrier, Arber Xhekaj, Jayden Struble, and David Reinbacher/Adam Engstrom) and two goaltenders.

Does Xhekaj deserve to start the season with the big club? Yes. Will he start the season with the big club? Maybe. Everyone sees him in the NHL at the start of the season; the club isn't crazy—they see the same thing we do. We just need to go with merit, not “fame” or seniority in the NHL.

As Max Truman pointed out this morning, it's true that meritocracy will be put to the test. Because Kirby Dach hasn't done anything right since the start of camp, but he's been in the NHL for a long time, and he probably won't be the one to get the boot.

When I say Dach hasn't been doing anything right, I'm not even exaggerating a little bit. He has no sense of urgency, and for a guy who's on his last chance with the Habs, he's not giving it his all…

Simon Boisvert also said this morning (on “Mathias & le Serpent”) that, in his opinion, this is Dach's last season in Montreal.

I agree.


In a nutshell

– He just keeps getting better.

– Yes.

– Really?

– Obviously.

– One to watch.

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