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Pierre Dorion has no doubt: Florian Xhekaj will be an NHL player
Félix Forget
Pierre Dorion has no doubt: Florian Xhekaj will be an NHL player
Credit: It’s been a few years since the Xhekaj family has been making headlines in Montreal. We’ve gotten to know Arber as an undrafted free agent invited to the rookie camp… and in the 2023 draft, his brother Florian joined him in the organization. For the two brothers, it must be special… but for the parents, […]
It’s been a few years since the Xhekaj family has been making headlines in Montreal. We’ve gotten to know Arber as an undrafted free agent invited to the rookie camp… and in the 2023 draft, his brother Florian joined him in the organization.

For the two brothers, it must be special… but for the parents, who became Canadiens fans when they arrived in Canada, it must be just as special.

That being said, if Arber is already established in the NHL, Florian (who is younger) is rolling up his sleeves in Laval. He’s having a great first year in the AHL, but some are wondering if he really has a future in the NHL…

But Pierre Dorion has no doubt: the young forward will become an NHL player sooner or later.

He discussed it with Martin Lemay on BPM Sports today.

What Dorion explains is that even if Xhekaj is not the most talented prospect in town, he has assets that make it easy to project him as an NHL player. He’s a physical guy who, in a support role, will be able to bring heavy hockey to a Bettman circuit team.

In fact, Dorion puts Xhekaj in the category of Rocket prospects he sees definitely playing in the NHL. In this category, he also places Owen Beck, David Reinbacher, and Jakub Dobes (who has already graduated).

Logan Mailloux and Joshua Roy are not: they are in the second category, which represents more question marks.

So, that means that for Dorion, there are few prospects in the Canadiens who have more chances than Xhekaj to establish themselves in the NHL. He only talked about Rocket players, so we can probably add Ivan Demidov, Michael Hage, and Jacob Fowler to his list… but the point remains: the list is short.

And of course, the idea of seeing the two Xhekaj brothers play together in Montreal one day is really interesting. It would be a great moment for the two guys and their family, but also for the fans.


In a hurry

– Wow!

– Mikko Rantanen says he would have been open to staying in Carolina. His agent also said the same thing in response to Rod Brind’Amour’s comments.

– General managers want clarity on the rights of CHL players who move to the NCAA. Quentin Miller is a case in point for the Canadiens.

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