Born in Brandon, Ron Hextall had an early introduction to the sport of hockey. He grew up watching his father Bryan Hextall Jr., play professional hockey and he often joined him at game day skates. There was no doubt that Hextall would become a goaltender. He was always stationed in net, whether it was on the ice or in a game of street hockey. After all, his grandfather, NHL Hall of Famer, Bryan Hextall Sr. started as a goaltender because it was thought he could not skate.

Hextall played his junior hockey in his hometown with the Wheat Kings. In three WHL seasons, he racked up 117 penalty minutes, and still holds the league record for most penalty minutes by a goaltender in a single season.

In 1982, the Philadelphia Flyers selected Hextall in the 6th round of the NHL entry draft (119th overall). It was the start of a long relationship between the two. After a brief stint in the IHL (Kalamazoo), he entered the AHL ranks. In his rookie season with the Hershey Bears, he led the league in games played and received the Dudley (Red) Garrett Memorial Award as the AHL Rookie of the Year.

In 1986, Hextall broke into the NHL in fine fashion, establishing a Flyers’ record for wins by a rookie on the way to winning the team’s MVP award. He led them through a memorable post season run. After the Flyers came back from a 3-1 series deficit the Stanley Cup final went to the deciding game, against Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers. Game 7 was in Edmonton. After a tentative opening, the Oilers caught their stride. A goal from Jari Kurri gave them what they needed for a hard-fought 3-1 win. The Oilers were euphoric, and Hextall was disconsolate when league officials presented him the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs. Hextall also earned the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s Best Goaltender.

Entering his sophomore season, Hextall’s aggressive style of play had made him a fan favourite in Philadelphia. Known for being one of the first goalies to regularly leave the goalmouth and play the puck with his stick, on December 8, 1987, the offensive prowess of the net minder paid off with a goal. The puck sailed coast to coast into a vacant net to light the lamp against Boston. Hextall became the first goalie in NHL history to shoot and score a goal, a feat he replicated in the playoffs on April 11, 1989 against the Washington Capitals, thus also becoming the first goalie to score a goal in a playoff game.

In 1992 Hextall was a part of the infamous Eric Lindros trade to the Quebec Nordiques. He spent one season with the Nordiques, followed by a season on the Island in New York before the Flyers reacquired him in 1994. Hextall finished out his career with Philadelphia, taking one more run at the cup in 1997. However, once again no Stanley; the Flyers were swept by Detroit in the final. Hextall retired in 1999. He holds several goaltending career, single season and playoff records within the Flyers' franchise, and is one of their most beloved players to date.

Always a student of the game, Hextall joined the Flyers' front office in 1999 as a Pro Scout and was elevated to Director of Pro Player Personnel in 2002. Hextall was instrumental in the club’s great success of averaging nearly 102 points per season, three Atlantic Division titles and two trips to the Eastern Conference Finals losing to eventual Stanley Cup Champions both times. In 2006 he went to the west coast after being named Assistant GM of the L.A. Kings. In addition, Hextall serves as the GM of the Kings’ AHL affiliate, the Manchester Monarchs.

Despite his success both on and off the ice, Hextall’s greatest source of pride is his personal cheering section: his wife Diane (Ojibowski), and his four children; Kristin, Brett, Rebecca and Jeffrey. When one thinks about Hextall as a hockey player, competitiveness and assertiveness come to mind but when one is fortunate enough to know Hextall, it is easy to recognize his strong family values, kindness and respect for others, sense of humour, and amiable personality: Ron Hextall, the man behind the mask.