Ron Hextall

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CanadaCanada  Ron Hextall Ice hockey player
Ron Hextall
Date of birth May 3, 1964
place of birth Brandon , Manitoba , Canada
size 191 cm
Weight 93 kg
position goalkeeper
number # 27
Catch hand Left
Draft
NHL Entry Draft 1982 , 6th lap, 119th position
Philadelphia Flyers
Career stations
1981-1984 Brandon Wheat Kings
1984-1985 Kalamazoo Wings
1985-1986 Hershey Bears
1986-1992 Philadelphia Flyers
1992-1993 Québec Nordiques
1993-1994 New York Islanders
1994-1999 Philadelphia Flyers

Ronald Jeffrey "Ron" Hextall (born May 3, 1964 in Brandon , Manitoba ) is a former Canadian ice hockey goalkeeper and current - functional . During his active career, he played a total of over 700 games in the National Hockey League and completed most of them - apart from one season each with the Québec Nordiques and the New York Islanders - for the Philadelphia Flyers . With the Flyers he reached the final of the Stanley Cup in 1987 , lost there to the Edmonton Oilers and was still honored as MVP of the playoffs with the Conn Smythe Trophy . He also received the Vezina Trophy and the Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award for the NHL's best goalkeeper in the same season . In 1997 , the Canadian succeeded again in the Stanley Cup final with Philadelphia, where he lost with the team against the Detroit Red Wings . On an international level, he won the gold medal at the Canada Cup in 1987 with the Canadian national team .

After his active career, Hextall began his career as a functionary in Philadelphia, where, after six years with the Los Angeles Kings , he was General Manager from 2014 to 2018 .

Career

Ron Hextall comes from a family of ice hockey. His grandfather Bryan Hextall Sr. was a star in the New York Rangers around 1940 and is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame . His father, Bryan Hextall junior , also played over 500 games in the NHL around 1970. His uncle Dennis Hextall played almost 700 games . Ron began his career in 1981 in the Canadian Junior League WHL with the Brandon Wheat Kings . After a year he was selected by the Philadelphia Flyers in the sixth round of the 1982 NHL Entry Draft at position 119.

After two more years in the WHL, Hextall played in 1984/85 with the Kalamazoo Wings in the IHL and the Hershey Bears in the AHL , both of the Flyers' farm teams . 1985/86 he only played for Hershey and was named the best rookie of the AHL, as he still had the status of a newcomer to the league, having played only eleven games in his first season in the AHL.

1986/87 was his first year for Ron Hextall in the NHL and that as a regular goalkeeper. As the best team in the Prince of Wales Conference, the Flyers made it into the playoffs . In the first round, they defeated the New York Rangers in six games and moved into the second round, where they delivered a highly competitive series with the New York Islanders . Philadelphia led 3-1 after four games, but lost the next two games. In the seventh and decisive game, the Flyers made it into the next round with a 5-4 victory. In the conference finals they met the Montréal Canadiens and defeated them 4-2. The Edmonton Oilers around superstar Wayne Gretzky were the opponents in the Stanley Cup final . The Oilers were in the Stanley Cup final for the fourth time in five years and have already won the Cup twice. And it looked like it after four games. They led 3-1 and only needed one more win, but the Flyers struck back and equalized the series, only to lose 1-3 in the last game. Despite the final defeat, Ron Hextall was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs . A few days later he received the Vezina Trophy as the best goalkeeper in the NHL and was appointed to the NHL All-Rookie Team . However , he did not receive the Calder Memorial Trophy , but Luc Robitaille .

In the 1987/88 season he was the first goalkeeper to score a goal himself. The New York Islanders goalkeeper Billy Smith was listed as a goalscorer in 1979, but he did not score the goal himself, but was the last Islanders player to touch the puck before the opposing team scored an own goal. But it didn't work out for the Flyers in the playoffs and they were eliminated in the first round.

In the playoffs of the 1988/89 season , Hextall once again showed his toughness for which he was known and why he had received 113 penalty minutes in the season, more than any other goalie in the history of the NHL. In the sixth game, the Montréal Canadiens were already 4-2 and were on their way to claim a decisive fourth win when Hextall hit Chris Chelios with his bat and schooner, apparently in revenge for an attack by Chelios on a player in the first game Flyers who suffered a concussion. The Chelios attack was not punished at the time. Hextall received a major five-minute penalty and a match penalty and was also suspended for the first twelve games of the coming season.

After serving the suspension at the beginning of the 1989/90 season , he could only play two games before he sustained a serious injury. He was only used again in mid-February, played six more games, injured himself again and ended the season. The coming season was also marked by injuries and Hextall only played 36 games.

The 1991/92 season was again largely injury-free, but the Flyers missed the playoffs. In the summer of 1992, Hextall was part of one of the largest transfer deals in NHL history. Together with Hextall, the Flyers gave Peter Forsberg , Steve Duchesne , Kerry Huffman , Mike Ricci , Chris Simon , two first-round draft picks and $ 15 million to the Québec Nordiques to preserve the highly valued talent Eric Lindro .

Hextall only stayed in Quebec for a year but was able to lead the Nordiques back into the playoffs for the first time in several years. In the summer of 1993 he was transferred to the New York Islanders, but went back to the Philadelphia Flyers after a year.

After five unsuccessful years, the Flyers made it back to the playoffs with Hextall in 1995 and again reached the Stanley Cup final in the 1996/97 season . Hextall was not in top form like in 1987 and after just four games, the winner of the Stanley Cup was certain with the Detroit Red Wings .

Hextall played for the Flyers for two more years, but was only number two in goal in his last season. In 1999 he was released from the Philadelphia Flyers and ended his career shortly thereafter.

Ron Hextall, along with Jacques Plante, is one of the players who revolutionized the goalkeeper game. They often left their goal area to play the puck with their stick to the other players. This style was rarely found until the 1990s, but is now widespread and has been perfected more and more by other goalies such as Rick DiPietro and Martin Brodeur . In addition, Hextall became known for the way he attacked players who hit his goal with the puck. He received penalties several times and holds the NHL record with a total of 584 penalty minutes in his career.

He was nicknamed "The Witcher" by the fans because he had fished out of the air many a puck that had already been seen in the goal. He wore the numbers 27 and 72 throughout his career.

In the summer of 2006, Ron Hextall was hired by the Los Angeles Kings as assistant general manager and himself acts as general manager of the Kings farm team in the AHL, the Manchester Monarchs . After a year as Assistant General Manager at the Philadelphia Flyers , he succeeded GM Paul Holmgren in June 2014 . He held this position until November 2018 when he was relieved of his duties.

Achievements and Awards

Special and records

  • First goalkeeper to score himself (December 8, 1987 against the Boston Bruins)
  • First goalkeeper to score in the playoffs (April 11, 1989 against the Washington Capitals)
  • Goalkeeper with the most penalty minutes in a Regular Season - 113 penalty minutes; 1988/89
  • Goalkeeper with the most penalty minutes in the playoffs of a season - 43 penalty minutes; 1986/87
  • Goalkeeper with the most penalty minutes of his career (regular season) - 584 penalty minutes
  • Goalkeeper with the most penalty minutes of his career (playoffs) - 115 penalty minutes

Web links

Commons : Ron Hextall  - collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Hextall, Ron
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hextall, Ronald Jeffrey
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian ice hockey goalkeeper and official
DATE OF BIRTH May 3, 1964
PLACE OF BIRTH Brandon , Manitoba, Canada