Arber Xhekaj is a Canadian hockey player for the Montreal Canadiens. He was born on January 30, 2001, in Hamilton, Ontario. Xhekaj quickly built a reputation as one of the toughest players in the league. At 6'4" (193 cm) and 240 lbs (109 kg), he uses his size to shut down opponents.
He is part of a new generation of enforcers in the NHL, along with Matt Rempe and Brady Tkachuk.
His father, Jack, is Albanian from Kosovo, and his mother, Simona, is Czech. They fled their home countries and met in Hamilton. Arber has a younger brother, Florian, born in 2004. The Canadiens drafted Florian 101st overall in 2023.
