Arber Xhekaj’s Czech-native mom Simona sends a celebratory message as Czechia bag World Juniors bronze medal after defeating Sweden [via X/@edasale12, IG/@simonaxhekaj]

Habs defenseman Arber Xhekaj’s mother, Simona, made sure to send her heartfelt congratulations to the Czech Republic junior hockey national team on Sunday after Czechia claimed the bronze medal at the World Junior Hockey Championship. The Czech side secured a 14-round 3-2 shootout victory over Sweden in Ottawa.

Simona Xhekaj, who is originally from Czechia, retweeted Seattle Kraken prospect Eduard Sale’s post featuring a locker room group photo taken after their bronze medal win on her X account.

In the caption, she wrote:

“Ladies and gentleman the bronze medalist 🔥 It was fight till last minute. Congratulations, always proud🇨🇿🇨🇿🇨🇿❤️❤️❤️”

Eduard Sale scored the game-winner with a backhand move on the night, capping a marathon shootout. Sale also tied the shootout in the 13th round after Sweden’s Otto Stenberg briefly gave his team the lead. Czech goalie Michael Hrabal made several clutch saves, finishing with 32 stops in regulation and overtime.

Jakub Stancl and Sale scored in regulation for Czechia, while David Edstrom had both goals for Sweden. The game remained tied through regulation and overtime before Sale’s heroics secured Czechia’s third straight World Junior medal.

Arber Xhekaj’s mother is an avid spectator of the sport

Simona Xhekaj has been a passionate supporter of her sons’ hockey journeys. She tunes in to both of their hockey fixtures, including Arber’s brother Florian’s AHL games.

Florian Xhekaj was originally drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the fourth round of the 2023 NHL Draft. He previously had an impressive junior season with the OHL’s Brantford Bulldogs, scoring 34 goals and 65 points in 63 games. He now plays for the Laval Rocket in the AHL, and last month, Simona made sure to laud her younger son on earning first-star honors.

“Every player needs game like this 💯 Unfortunately, mom was on duty at tire shop, but was able to watch on replay. Very proud of our deputy 👌🥰”, she wrote on X.

Florian has scored three goals and added two assists for the Lavar Rocket on the night and Simona expressed how thrilled she was about her son’s performance, even though she had to watch the game on replay.

Simona is also a fitness conscious individual. She earlier shared a post-workout selfie on her Instagram stories and reshared content addressing the growing concerns about obesity.