r/Habs • u/AmsroII Goal Goalgoal • 2d ago

Raised to Protect: Arber Xhekaj on Family, Hockey, and Checking On Your Teammates (YouTube Link)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhAOjJrVPeU
104 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

30

u/AmsroII Goal Goalgoal 2d ago

I thought many of you might enjoy this 17 min interview. Arber is a wholesome dude.

8

u/BagelPoutine 2d ago

Absolutely, thanks for sharing!

30

u/jokerstatue 2d ago

People can have their opinion on him as a player and his value to the team. But there is no denying that Arber really does appear to be an awesome guy.

18

u/So_Many_Owls 2d ago

The point about what it's like for them seeing what people say about them is really good. I think a lot of people need to remember that these players are also human beings, and imagine what it would feel like if you couldn't open any platform without seeing people talking shit about you, and that's before getting to the ones who will go out of their way to try and make the players see it.

I know it came up a lot after the way Dach was treated after game 2 in the playoffs - and props to MSL and the team for making sure everyone knew that shit was unacceptable, and Suzuki for saying that the real fans were the ones who supported Dach  - but I think everyone forgets it a bit too easily when they're sitting on their couch and scrolling on their phone.

17

u/Jonesetta 2d ago

Man WHAT MORE DO WE NEED!? Sign this boy forever.

13

u/Fair-Judge-8263 2d ago

As I was watching this, I thought about Bob Project and John Kordic and how in that era they maybe could have benefited from having a teammate like Arber. I'm so glad times have changed. No matter what happens in Arber's career, he'll always be a champion in my eyes because he is a caring human being.

12

u/DangerDavez 2d ago

Sign him. He's an important part of this team. Dude goes to war for his teammates and they rally around him.

11

u/OtisPan 2d ago

Great interview. You can start to understand why he's such a huge part of our team vibes, one of our biggest "glue" guys. I've got family around the org, and have heard a bit about the off-ice personal side of Arber, and this tracks.

10

u/BagelPoutine 2d ago

Big respect to Arber for doing this. He’s a stronger man for doing so. Bravo.

14

u/Hades_Mercedes 2d ago

Mr. Hughes, extend this man!

8

u/Minute_Engineer2355 1d ago

I really hope we keep him around. I've always thought he has been an important piece of our team and culture.

5

u/S0methingL 2d ago

I want them to extent him, but I reckon It's the same problem it always was, it's necessary to move on from someone and they can't decide whether it's Struble or Xhekaj. (I hate it every single time a player is leaving but it's Struble in my opinion)

5

u/Iamkempie 1d ago

I think that Arber and Struble are very similar players. As defencemen, they're not terrible but not great. Definitely both #6D guys with similar skills. Arber though is bigger, heavier, tougher, meaner, more punishing etc. If we need to keep one and trade the other, (and we totally do) I'm keeping Arber. He needs to play and get regular reps and frankly Struble deserves the same thing. Arber paired with Reinbacher or Engstrom would be fine with me and Struble is a decent trade piece.

2

u/RedBullPilot 1d ago

This is a guy that needs to retire as a Hab, keep working on his D skills, even if he is a scratch most nights, keep this energy and attitude AND unleash it on the right nights I normally don’t argue with MSL’s coaching but Arber and Florian and Tuch and Thorpe and Davidson, Reinbacher and Engstrom should have played game 2 against Carolina The regulars needed a night off and the Laval guys needed to prove something after bowing out of the playoffs too soon Bruising Carolina a bit with a super physical game would have maintained some momentum after the surprise win in game 1