The Canadiens’ rookie camp will open next Wednesday when players report to the CN Sports Complex in Brossard for physical and medical testing.
The goal of every player will be to eventually make the Canadiens, but very few will. For players at the rookie camp searching for inspiration they can look to defenceman Arber Xhekaj, who is preparing to enter his third season with the Canadiens after signing a two-year, US$2.6-million contract in July.
Xhekaj was never selected at the OHL junior draft nor at the NHL Draft., but was among the 27 players the Canadiens invited to their rookie camp in 2021.
Only seven of the players who attended that camp have gone on to play for the Canadiens, led by Kaiden Guhle — selected in the first round (16th overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft — with 114 games under his belt. The others are Jesse Ylönen (111 games), Xhekaj (95), Rafaël Harvey-Pinard (83), Joshua Roy (23), Mattias Norlinder (6) and Cameron Hillis (1). Xhekaj is the only one of those seven players who wasn’t drafted by the Canadiens.
Xhekaj arrived at the 2021 rookie camp after going a full season without playing hockey because the OHL and his Kitchener Rangers team were shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Hamilton native spent that season lifting weights, roller-blading and looking for ice time whenever it was available. He was also working at a Costco store in Hamilton, doing everything from bringing in shopping carts from outside to standing at the front door with a counter to keep track of the number of people going in.
After a slow start at rookie camp, Xhekaj did enough to be among the 69 players invited to the Canadiens’ main training camp. During a recent interview on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast, Xhekaj spoke about how nervous he was in the first NHL preseason game — a 4-1 loss to the Maple Leafs in Toronto. Xhekaj was so nervous that he felt lost on the ice and couldn’t feel the puck on his stick. He allowed the Maple Leafs’ John Tavares to get away from him in front of the Canadiens net to deflect in a puck and Xhekaj finished the game minus-2.
Xhekaj then took part in the annual Red vs. White scrimmage at the Bell Centre and played “pretty well” but realized after the game he was being sent back to junior when he saw his extra sticks all taped up together outside the locker room.
Xhekaj told the story on Spittin’ Chiclets about how at that point he went to speak with Luke Richardson, who was the assistant coach in charge of defence at the time and is now head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks.
“I need another game,” Xhekaj recalled telling Richardson on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast. “I don’t care what it takes, I need another game. That was not me. I was nervous, I was star-struck, I hadn’t played hockey in two years. I said: ‘I’m not making excuses for myself, but just give me one more game, please, whatever it takes.’”
Xhekaj figures Richardson then spoke with former head coach Dominique Ducharme and the decision was made to keep the young defenceman around. Xhekaj would play in one more preseason game — a 2-1 win over the Ottawa Senators at the Bell Centre. The 6-foot-4, 240-pound defenceman did enough — including four hits in 14:43 of ice time — to convince former GM Marc Bergevin to sign him to a three-year, NHL entry-level contract after the game before returning him to junior.
Xhekaj went back to the hotel room where his parents were staying after watching the game to give them the news.
“Guys, we did it!” Xhekaj recalled telling his parents as his mother broke down in tears.
“That was probably my favourite moment I have … my favourite NHL moment,” Xhekaj said on the podcast.
Xhekaj went back to the Kitchener Rangers, who later traded him to the Hamilton Bulldogs. Xhekaj finished the regular season with 12-22-34 totals and 138 penalty minutes in 51 games split between Kitchener and Hamilton and then helped the Bulldogs win the OHL championship with 6-10-16 totals and 50 penalty minutes in 18 playoff games.
Xhekaj returned for the Canadiens’ rookie camp in 2022, advanced to the main training camp again and then made the roster to start the NHL season.
On the podcast, Xhekaj recalled watching the OHL Draft and the NHL Draft while being overlooked at both and thinking he was as good as some of the players he knew who were getting picked.
“I always think: If they can do it, why can’t I?” Xhekaj said on Spittin’ Chiclets. “I always thought: I’m just as good as this kid, I’m just as good as this guy. I’m right there. I don’t see him doing that much more than me.
“I don’t know if I’m delusional or what,” Xhekaj added. “Even when I went to Montreal’s camp, I was like: ‘I fit in with these guys. Why can’t I play? I can make it this year.’ That’s kind of just my mentality.”