When Jack Xhekaj fled Albania 30 years ago, he was in his early 20s and looking for a better life. He spoke no English, had very little money and knew nothing about hockey when he arrived in Toronto.
Xhekaj ended up living in a Salvation Army building on King St., near Toronto’s Chinatown.
“I met some other Albanians and we were talking about hockey,” Xhekaj recalled. “Tie Domi was Albanian and he was playing for the Leafs and that’s how we started watching hockey. All my friends were cheering for the Leafs, so I decided to cheer for Montreal. So for 30 years I’ve been a Montreal fan.”
While walking the streets of Toronto one day, Xhekaj overheard a group of people speaking Albanian and started to talk to them. They took him in, offering him a shower, clean clothes and food. One of them was working for National Steel Car in Hamilton and was able to get Xhekaj a job there as a welder building train freight cars.
In Hamilton, Xhekaj met his future wife, Simona, who had left the Czech Republic, also looking for a better life in Canada.
The couple built a family in Hamilton with four children: Sophia, now 24, Arber, 23, Dominika, 21, and Florian, 20.
When Xhekaj was living at the Salvation Army, he never could have dreamed that both his sons would one day be with the Canadiens. Arber is entering his third season in the NHL, while Florian will be looking to earn a spot on the team when rookie camp opens next Wednesday in Brossard after being selected by Montreal in the fourth round (101st overall) of last year’s NHL Draft.
“It’s unreal,” the father said during a phone interview Tuesday from Hamilton. “It’s a dream come true. Can’t get better than that.”
The Xhekajs are the epitome of a blue-collar family.
Simona works in the garage of a Costco in Hamilton changing tires. Dominika works at the same Costco — where Arber also used to work — driving a forklift while studying to become a flight attendant. Sophia is a firefighter who is now putting out flames in the Northwest Territories after helping battle the fires that recently went through Jasper, Alta.
When Arber signed his first NHL contract three years ago, it included an US$80,000 signing bonus and he used part of that to buy his parents new appliances. Arber has said one of his goals is to make enough money in the NHL so his parents can retire. When Florian signed his first NHL contract in April it included a US$95,000 signing bonus. Arber signed a new two-year, US$2.6-million contract with the Canadiens at the end of July.
Last month, Arber and Florian got together to buy their father a new Mercedes-Benz C43 twin-turbo car as a token of appreciation for the sacrifices he made helping them get where they are now.
“It was so nice of the boys to do that,” said the father, who has a passion for cars but spent many years driving minivans when his children were growing up. “When they put the keys in my hands they were shaking like a leaf. They said: ‘When you drove us to hockey you always had an older car and now it’s our chance to get you something and thank you for what you did for us.’ It was awesome. We gave each other hugs and started crying. It was a big surprise.
“It wasn’t easy,” Xhekaj added about the financial struggles raising four children, including two boys in high-level hockey. “It’s nice that they give back to their parents. Lots of kids, the parents sacrifice everything and then the kids don’t do nothing for them. We don’t ask for anything. Whatever they do for us, it’s just icing on the cake.”
During a recent interview on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast, Arber said he and his brother get their internal drive from their parents.
“They came here with literally nothing,” Arber said. “My dad had zero dollars in his pocket … same with my mom. I don’t think they had a suitcase. They started a whole life and we see it day in and day out how hard they work.”
Jack is working the morning shift this week at National Rail Car from 6 a.m. until 2:30 p.m., while Simona works from 1:30-10 p.m. at Costco, so they don’t get a lot of time together. The parents have always stressed the importance of work ethic to their children.
“We always said: ‘Nothing is handed to you on a silver plate … you got to work for everything. In this country nothing is stopping you but you. Me and your mother are going to do everything in our power to pay for everything, but we can’t go on the ice and skate for you. We can’t perform for you.’ But they did it. It wasn’t an easy road … it was a hard road.”
Now Jack is looking forward to some smooth roads while driving his new car.