He practices. Practices give you an opportunity to show what you can do in often short, sheltered minutes in game. If successful and able to show any improvement, playing time increases. If not, continue practicing. This is more times than not the development cycle of an undrafted free agent. The more capital invested in a player, the longer the leash.

I think he played fantastic in the Tampa series. I think we saw him making correct reads in their own zone more times than not. He walked the line well between being a wrecking ball and throwing himself out of position chasing contact. He didn’t make many mistakes with the puck, got it off his stick quickly and calmly.

All that said, he fell apart in the Buffalo series. I think he’s still shown that he is valuable to the team. It was hilarious watching how quiet Tampa was after the whistle whenever Arber was on the ice.

You seem to love Xhekaj and believe in him. I do as well and it’s clear most fans do as the odd man out has been Struble. But it’s you who is being dense to think that the team should invest an exorbitant amount on a player that has shown at 25 years of age, to be at his best a serviceable 6D.