Logan Mailloux Praises Underrated Canadiens Prospect

Xhekaj is a player many perceived as being drafted on the coattails of his brother Arber Xhekaj — the bully defenseman for the Canadiens who plays with a mean streak — hitting and fighting his way to a role on the Canadiens defense brigade. However, Florian has some scoring talent that was being nurtured in junior, and looked mighty fine in the first year of his professional hockey career.

It's not that the younger Xhekaj isn't a physical menace, or that he can't drop the mitts, because he proved early on, during the NHL preseason, that he wasn't going to turn down a chance to shed his gloves and trade bombs. But the silky and smooth skill, and heavy, accurate release were on display down in the AHL, and his performances and talent were more than enough to get a nod of approval from former teammate Logan Mailloux.

On his way out of the organization, Mailloux was interviewed by many members of the Canadiens' media, and he specifically complimented Xhekaj, throwing praise to the gritty forward, with impressive scoring upside. Mailloux believes that Xhekaj is an NHL talent right now.

Of course, Mailloux isn't in any position to make that call, but with the Canadiens' top six losing some big bodies, having a guy that can score like Xhekaj, with limited power play time, is impressive, and the element that he will add to the bottom six is exactly what Arbrer adds up front.

The Canadiens need to insulate their skilled players and ensure that anybody who challenges guys like Ivan Demidov, Lane Hutson and Cole Caufield will answer for it. Washington exposed the Canadiens' lack of physicality and toughness, so Xhekaj would certainly address that.

You can flip a coin, however, and many believe Florian would benefit from another season in the AHL to see how high his offensive ceiling is, and whether he can increase his goal totals (24) while growing his playmaking.

In the NHL, where everybody is at the top of their game, it can be tremendously difficult to grow and mould your offensive game, so Xhekaj may be left for some more seasoning down on the farm.

NHL training camp in late September will answer many questions, and Xhekaj's performance will be monitored closely.