Arber Xhekaj was deeply touched by comments made by his teammates and his head coach, Martin St-Louis, in a report that will air soon on the Sportsnet network.
That’s what we learn in the most recent 32 Thoughts column of renowned journalist Elliotte Friedman. St. Louis and the Canadiens players praised the underrated individual skills of the towering defenseman, who was often seen as just a brawler.
“He can go out of the zone to allow us to cross the neutral zone in possession of the puck, would have mentioned St-Louis, as quoted by Friedman, who revealed snippets of the report. Yes, he can do a punt, but he has high intelligence and good skills that allow him to do what his brain tells him to do. He has a creative mind.”
“There is a limited group of players who can do what they know how to do. [jeter les gants], but you have to have a lot of other qualities if you want to stay in this league, Gallagher would have explained for his part. He has proven that he has the necessary skills to play at the highest level.
Comments that moved the main interested party.
“Everybody used to say, when I was younger, ‘You’re a goon, a goon.’ And I was like, “No, I’m not a goon. I’ve got good hands. Good shot from the point.” I always knew it [que j’étais habile].»
Gallagher, however, did not miss an opportunity to fire the pipe at his younger teammates, he who would have let it be known that the team’s rookies are not very bright.
Read the 32 Thoughts column in its entirety.