A strong preseason had the younger Xhekaj in contention to earn a bottom-six role with the Canadiens; however, there were still some areas for improvement to secure a long-term spot in the NHL. Primarily, his defensive coverage and ability to get quicker to keep up with the NHL pace. After 12 AHL games with Laval, it is clear that it was the right decision, as he has regressed on offense compared to the 2024-25 season, with only three points so far. Xhekaj will likely recover his scoring touch as the season progresses; however, the best thing for his development for now is to stay in the AHL for the whole season to work on his defensive coverage and improve his quickness.

Xhekaj made his AHL debut in the 2024-2025 season and showed all the hallmarks that made him a fan favourite for the Hamilton/Brantford Bulldogs. In 69 games the rookie potted 24 goals- tying him for second on the Rocket- 11 assists and a whopping 175 PIMs. Fantasy investors should be weary of regression on the goal scoring potential as he shot 25%, which was the sixth highest mark in the AHL by a player who played 15 or more games. He has a fast track to being a fan favourite in Montreal, and playing with his brother Arber would make a great story. It’s highly likely he skates in the NHL, we will just have to wait to see if he has what it takes to stick.

The Xhekaj brothers are unicorns in their development. Florian Xhekaj’s development in the 2023-24 season saw him become a point-per-game forward in the OHL, as well as grow physically by over two inches and by nearly 20 pounds. It is no longer a stretch to envision Xhekaj as a dependable bottom-six NHLer, which could not be said at this time last year. The Montreal Canadiens clearly know something the public doesn’t with the Xhekaj’s, and things look to be on track for lightning to strike twice.

Novemeber 2023 – Well, if there’s one thing to bet on with a Xhekaj, it’s that they’ll have a ridiculous development curve. Florian Xhekaj is a completely different player than he was last year, and while he still has several flaws in his game, he has made a ton of progress. Pushing towards a PPG in his D+2 season, the tools are there for Xhekaj to become an effective bottom-sixer. However, seeing the progress he has already made, and contrasting it with his older brothers’ development, maybe there’s something else there that we haven’t quite seen yet.

Nobody at Bridgestone Arena expected Florian Xhekaj to be drafted in the fourth round, except for Canadiens management. The overager OHL bottom-sixer’s first year in Major Junior saw him put up far under a half a point-per-game, and no stat truly glares off the point sheet other than PIM’s (and a worrying +/-). The Canadiens are clearly hoping for a logic-defying development curve, similar to Florian’s older brother Arber, but using a fourth round pick on Florian can only truly be described as a nepotism pick. He likely would have been available deep into the draft, and possibly wouldn’t have been drafted at all. We will see how Xhekaj performs in his D+2 in Brantford, but as it stands right now, it is hard to imagine him being anything more than a low-impact NHL bottom-sixer.