Stu Cowan: Beefy Canadien Arber Xhekaj's path to NHL paved with a fork

Eating six meals a day as a junior to gain weight and strength, the 6-foot-4 Hab added 65 pounds to hit his current playing weight of 240.

The Canadiens’ Arber Xhekaj says he didn’t know about the “diet” U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps followed while training for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where he would win eight gold medals and set seven world records.

In the lead-up to the Games, Phelps was consuming between 10,000 and 12,000 calories a day as fuel for his 6-foot-4, 195-pound body and the intense training sessions he went through.

Phelps’s day would start with a bowl of rice pudding, followed by his “Hungry Man” breakfast, which consisted of three eggs, hash-brown potatoes, five sausages, wheat toast and a side of bacon, along with lots of water to drink.

Xhekaj was only 7 when Phelps competed in Beijing (which makes me feel very old), so it wasn’t a real surprise that he didn’t know about the swimmer’s diet when I asked him about it after practice Monday in Brossard.

The reason I asked is because when Xhekaj was playing junior hockey in Ontario, he ate six meals a day while trying to gain weight and strength.

Xhekaj started eating that much when he was playing junior B as a 16-year-old with the St. Catharines Falcons and it continued after he moved up to the OHL with the Kitchener Rangers and then the Hamilton Bulldogs.

“When I was younger, I still tried to play that physical role because I like the tough side of the game,” Xhekaj said. “But when I was smaller, it was a lot harder for me. I found I was always a strong kid, so that helped.”

The 6-foot-4 defenceman went from 175 pounds during his first season of junior to 190 pounds by the end of that season. By the next season in the OHL, he was up to 210 pounds and then 225. He now weighs 240 pounds.

Xhekaj, who celebrated his 22nd birthday on Monday, has 5-8-13 totals in 49 games during his rookie NHL season with the Canadiens and leads the team in hits with 154 — ranking him 10th in the NHL. He also leads the NHL in penalty minutes with 92, including eight fighting majors.

When the OHL cancelled the 2020-21 season because of COVID-19, Xhekaj really focused on his training and diet.

“That was a big (year) because I was working out a lot and I had a pretty steady schedule,” he recalled. “My mom cooked all my meals.

“I’d eat a bowl of oatmeal and a smoothie before I’d go to the gym (in the morning) and then when I would get home I’d have two breakfasts to start,” he added. “I’d get home from the gym, I’d have my eggs and whatever my mom made. She’d make something different every day. After that, I’d take a nap, I’d wake up and eat, then go to hockey (training). Get home, eat again. It was always some healthy stuff my mom would put together and it was really good.”

Xhekaj’s mother, Simona, was a high-level volleyball player while growing up in Czechoslovakia.

“She loves fitness,” Xhekaj said. “She’s been in the gym for years now. That’s kind of her thing. She loves the gym. She’s tried every diet, she’s tried keto. She’s done everything and tried it all to see what she likes and what she doesn’t like. She’s really helped me a lot with the fitness side of things.”

Xhekaj’s mother also told her son to believe in himself, even though he wasn’t selected at the OHL or NHL drafts.

“That’s the biggest thing that I hold, because she always told me if you believe and put everything into that belief then you can achieve your goals,” he said. “That’s what I’ve held close to me throughout my career.”

Xhekaj’s diet came as a shock to his junior billet families.

“They thought I was crazy when I was eating six, seven eggs every morning,” he said. “They were like: ‘How many eggs do we need to buy for this guy?’

“At home, it was me and my brother (Florian) eating like that,” Xhekaj added. “So for my parents it was times two … it’s a lot of food and a lot of money.”

Xhekaj’s brother is playing for the OHL’s Bulldogs.

“If I eat more, train more, I put on weight,” Xhekaj said. “It’s not bad weight … that’s the most important thing.”

Xhekaj isn’t trying to gain more weight, but he still has a huge appetite.

“If it’s a buffet style, that’s not good for me,” he said with a grin. “When I was eating that much a day, I developed like a tolerance for food. If I don’t have just one plate I never get full, so I’ve got to chill. Just stick with my one plate now and that’s it.”

So, no more six meals a day?

“Definitely not,” Xhekaj said with a chuckle. “I’m not trying to put on any more weight … just maintain.”

scowan@postmedia.com

twitter.com/StuCowan1

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