Florian Xhekaj was not in the stands at the Bridgestone Arena when the Canadian selected him in the fourth round last Thursday. He was in the gym more and working out with his teammates, which he does almost every day.
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“I had kept my phone with me just in case. And when my agent called me to say Montreal had drafted me, I started running everywhere,” said the 19-year-old forward, who was meeting on the sidelines of the development camp the Habs are holding in Brossard through Tuesday .
Apparently Arber was no more nervous than his brother, who was at the hairdresser’s when he heard the news.
“It’s not that I didn’t think I was called up,” added Florian. But several members of my family would not have been able to make the trip. So I told myself that it was better to stick to my usual routine in order not to think too much.
The Xhekaj brothers, who have been supporters of the Canadiens since they were young, realize a dream by both being part of the Montreal organization.
“We often played hockey on the street, my brother and I. He kept telling the neighbors that our favorite team was the Canadiens. One day, a neighbor who often knitted for us made Canadian cushions with our names on them. It was pretty cool. We still have them.
In awe of Arber
In addition, the Elder’s robust style and fights quickly won him the favor of the audience. Is Florian afraid of being overshadowed by his brother despite being a striker?
“NO. “Of course we both have that robustness and that aggressiveness in our game, but each of us has our style,” argued the Ontarion. I’m a power forward who competes anywhere on the rink. I hate battles to lose loose pucks.”
Speaking of struggles: Florian made no secret of his admiration for the achievements of Arber, three years his senior, in his first NHL season.
“Seeing him fight (Zack) Kassian in his first fight was something. When we were young, we often watched videos of fights. We watched (Nicolas) Deslauriers and (Tom) Wilson. It was cool to see him take on such a tough guy.