Montreal Canadiens defenceman Arber Xhekaj is a man of many nicknames.
When the physical blueliner made his debut with the Canadiens last season, some fans would playfully refer to the 6-foot-4 player as “Big X”.
Known to drop the gloves, the undrafted Ontario native has also been called the “Hamilton Hammer” on multiple occasions.
His least favourite pseudonym, though, seems to be “WiFi”, which was assigned to him by teammates on account of the odd assortment of letters in his family name.
If it were up to Xhekaj, he’d like to revert back to an alias he was given in junior after developing a reputation for sticking up for his teammates: The Sheriff.
“It was a nickname I had in junior when I was with Kitchener and it stayed through junior but it kind of switched up a bit here when I made it to the NHL,” Xhekaj said in an interview with the Montreal Gazette. “But it’s definitely a nickname I liked. I think [WiFi] is good, the people love it. But when people are calling me Mr. WiFi and they don’t know my name, that’s a bit tough.”
“But if the fans like it, I like it,” he added.
With his popularity on the rise, he just might get his wish.
Xhekaj announced a partnership with Quebec burger chain La Chambre this week, unveiling his new sponsored burger aptly named “The Sheriff.”
The 22-year-old even filmed an ad for the restaurant in French, leaning into the Western persona by donning a black cowboy hat.
Nicknames aside, though, Xhekaj is grateful for the recognition he’s received for his unique on-ice role.
“My whole life I’ve waited for this moment. To see people actually appreciating what I do, it’s amazing,” he explained to reporters on Wednesday.
And based on his play so far, which has included fights with some of the league’s toughest enforcers, it’s safe to assume he’ll keep laying down the law.
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