Stu Cowan: Canadian Arber Hekage is still a work in progress

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While many of his Canadiens teammates spent their bye week on a sunny beach down south last week, Arber Hekage returned home to Hamilton.

It has been a difficult season for the 23-year-old defender.

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Seventeen games into his second NHL season, Hekaid suffered an upper-body injury on November 16 that sidelined him for more than two weeks. Once healthy, the Canadiens traded him to the Laval Rockets of the AHL on December 4th. Xhekaj played 17 games with the Rockets – posting 3-8-11 totals and 34 penalty minutes – before being recalled. He played two games with the Canadiens before the bye week and had a nice scratch heading into the final game — a 3-2 overtime loss to the Penguins on Jan. 27 in Pittsburgh.

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“It was good,” Hekaid said Thursday after practice in Brossard when asked about the bye week. “I went home. I had enough time when I was injured. I think it was better to use this time to go to a place where I can see my family and spend some time at home.”

Are you jealous of your colleagues' beach photos on social media?

“If you want to go, have fun,” Chekey said. “It's a long season. But for me, I was just looking for time to get my body back where it wants to be and stay awake.”

Hekaid frequented the gym in Hamilton and had the chance to watch his younger brother Florian play games with the Brantford Bulldogs. The Bulldogs beat the Sudbury Wolves 5-3, featuring Hekage, and Florian was named the second star after scoring a goal and starting a rebound.

The Canadiens selected Florian, a 6-foot-4, 190-pound left wing, in the fourth round (101st overall) of last year's NHL draft. In 45 games with the Bulldogs this season, he had 19-18-37 totals and 58 penalty minutes.

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“He plays great,” Chekey said of his brother. “I really like what he's doing. It was really good to see him. I haven't seen him play in years. Big improvements, man. … He's about my height now. I haven't seen him in a while. It keeps growing on me. This summer, the battles will be very good between us.”

Hekaj was also able to spend time with his parents during his bye week. She came from humble beginnings with her parents, Simona and Jack, who immigrated to Canada from the Czech Republic and Albania in the 1990s. The couple met in Hamilton. Simone changes tires in a garage at Costco in Hamilton, and Jack is a welder at National Steel Car, building trains.

“She's always sending me quotes and things she reads on Instagram,” Chekay said of her mother. “He just wants us to be happy and healthy.”

Got a quote?

“He sends a lot,” Chekey said with a laugh. “Every day I read two or three things about a mother and her child or something like that. It's great to read…it's a daily thing for me to look forward to.”

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Hekaid said this season was tough for him physically and mentally. He said the job at Laval was good for his confidence and gave him time to think.

“Just to take the time to think and just be professional,” he said. “Showing up every day and focusing on everything you do. Arrive 30 minutes early, get to the gym early, be the first on the ice, treat every practice like a game. I think it helped me in that regard. It was great to play more than 20 minutes per game and become a guy who plays a lot of minutes there. Playing with (Logan) Mailloux. To return the touch after sitting for a while.

“Maybe it's a learning curve because I haven't experienced the AHL before,” added Hekaj, who was never drafted in the NHL and jumped straight to the Canadiens as a junior. “Maybe I took (the NHL) a little bit. Even though I thought I wasn't, I could. You never really know.”

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Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis said Hekaid needs to be consistent from shift to shift and game to game. He also needs to work defensively, using an active stick while maintaining a physical style of play.

Simply put, Hekage remains a work in progress.

“We like the potential upside we see for Arber,” St. Louis said. “I think it's continuing to raise the floor, and to me, the floor is stability.

“It's not easy for a young player to play in this league,” added the coach. “Most young players, you're looking for consistency.”

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