Ron Hextall: On The Spot

Ronald Hextall
courtesy of http://www.nhlpa.com
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: RON HEXTALL
Friday, March 19, 1999



Ron Hextall, in his second stint with the Philadelphia Flyers, 
is “In the Spotlight” today. The 35-year-old goaltender recalls 
his most memorable on-ice conversation, a discussion with none 
other than the ‘Great One.’ The 13-year NHL veteran also 
remembers his most embarrassing moment in hockey, an incident 
that occurred in the minors. The 1987 Vezina Trophy winner and 
Conn Smythe Award recipient also talks about the influence that 
his father, a former NHLer himself, had on his life and his road 
to the NHL.

Superstitions: I put my equipment on the same way and things 
like that before a game. I tie my left skate first and then my 
right, right pad first, and things like that. So I put my 
equipment on in order, I guess. Other than that, I’ve tried to 
get away from it. 

Favorite NHL Uniform: I’m a little biased towards the Flyers. I 
really like our third jersey.

Favorite Arena: I think Chicago Stadium was my favourite 
arena to play in other than our home arena. 

Toughest Team To Play: The Edmonton team back in the ‘80s 
was probably the toughest.

Fiercest Foe: I think (Mario) Lemieux is probably the guy
that was the hardest on all of us and probably the guy that on a 
breakaway I’d least like to face. 

Who impresses you the most in today’s league? I’ve got to 
look to two of our guys, Lindros and LeClair, who are really 
doing a great job and are certainly two of the top players in 
the league. 

Who impressed you the most when you broke into the league?
 I think back then, you’ve got to look at Lemieux and (Wayne)
Gretzky. They were the two guys that really were in a league of 
their own. 

How long was it before you could confidently call yourself an
NHLer? That’s a tough question. I think if you put a year 
in, you usually tend to think that you belong. But I think there 
are certain guys that have played one year and really haven’t 
been able to come back after that. So I think once you get a 
couple years in, you can say you’re an NHLer and you’re going to 
be there for a while. 

Most Memorable Game: I think Game Six (of the Stanley Cup
Finals) in 1987 when we beat Edmonton at home. I think we got
two goals in the third period, but I remember J.J. Daigneault 
scored the winning goal in the third period. 

Who was your hockey hero? I had many. I liked Tony 
Esposito. My dad played back then and I really like Jimmy 
Rutherford who was with my dad for a few years. Les Binkley. 
Bernie Parent was another. But I really liked the guys that my
dad played with. I guess because I was around them and stuff. 

If you could play with any current or former NHLer, who would it
be? I guess it would probably have to be Gretzky or Lemieux. 
They’d be fun to play with. I saw them both in the Canada Cup in 
’87, I was there and it was pretty memorable. But I think to 
play a year with them would be pretty special. It is to play 
with guys like Lindros and LeClair. 

If you could interview one hockey player, who would it be? What 
would you ask? Bobby Orr. He’s the guy that I grew up watching, 
but I was pretty young. I think he really revolutionized the 
position of defence and I think he’d be pretty interesting. I 
guess I’d probably ask him mostly about where he got his ideas 
to lug the puck up the ice and to be that defenseman up on the 
rush. 

Best Hockey Advice You’ve Received: My mom and dad didn’t put 
pressure on me to play hockey or play baseball or do this or do 
that. But I think they always wanted … if you’re going to do 
something, do it well and work hard. And I think that’s the best 
advice that whatever you do, try and do a good job and certainly 
work as hard as you can. 

Biggest Hockey Influence: I think my parents. I also think that 
being around my father and his team when I was young, it made a 
big influence, being in the locker room and seeing a lot of the 
NHL games. I think that had a big impact on me. From a young 
age, I wanted to be a hockey player. 

Minor Hockey Memories: I was in Midget playing back in Brandon 
and we played this team in Winnipeg to go to the Air Canada Cup 
to represent Manitoba. And we were probably 100-1 underdogs and 
we beat them to go to the Canadian championship. That was pretty 
exciting. 

Junior Hockey Memories: Survival! (laughing) That was a little 
bit of old-time hockey back then in the west. We had some good 
battles with Regina.

What quality do you admire most in a teammate? I think a hard 
work ethic and dedication. I think that I was fortunate to come 
up at a time when we had a very hard-working team in the mid to 
late 80’s. Guys like Mark Howe, Brad McCrimmon, Davey Poulin. 
They really set the trend for our team at that time. 

Favourite Teammate of all time: That’s tough. I guess I’d have 
to look back because I’ve played with a lot of great players. 
But Davey Poulin was our captain in the late ‘80s when we were 
very successful and made that run to the Finals and just about 
knocked Edmonton off. So I think he’s probably the one guy that 
I’d pick. But certainly guys like Mark Howe and Eric Lindros and 
Eric Desjardins and John LeClair are right there, too. 

What’s the greatest asset you bring to the rink? I like to think 
that I work hard and I’ve always worked hard and I like to think 
that I prepare myself every night to play the game.

Most Memorable On-Ice Conversation: Probably the one memory I 
have is my first NHL game. We were playing against Edmonton and, 
I don’t know what happened, I had a little scrum with somebody 
and Gretzky came by and said, ‘Who the heck are you?’ And I 
looked at him and I said, ‘Who the heck are you?’ It was the 
stupidest thing I’ve ever said. 

The most embarrassing moment: There was one time I was in the 
International League, it was my first year pro and we came out 
of our box, and I used to come out really hard, and I’d come out 
not knowing there was a carpet on the ice. Obviously with skates 
on, the carpet doesn’t mesh too well and I fell down. And then I 
went to get up and there was a guy on the carpet, I don’t know 
if he was singing the anthem or what he was doing, but I went to 
get up and I kind of moved the carpet and the guy fell down. I 
went on my way, but it was pretty embarrassing. I was glad I was 
in the minors at the time and not too many people were there.

First Job: Other than a paper route, I worked in a garage, 
cleaning cars and doing things like that. 

If You Weren’t Playing Hockey You’d Be…: That’s a tough question 
to answer. Again, my whole life I’ve geared towards hockey and I 
think I would have probably gone back to school, possibly into 
business. Something of that nature. 

What would you like to do after hockey: I’d like to stay 
involved in the game in some capacity. Where? I’m not sure. What 
kind of opportunities? I’m not sure. But I would like to stay 
involved in the game. 

Favorite Hobby: I like to golf and fish. 
Who is the most famous person you’ve met? George Bush, back a 
few years ago when he was President. I met him at the White 
House one time. 

You were born in Winnipeg. What do you consider to be your 
hometown? I grew up in Brandon (Manitoba), so I consider Brandon 
to be my hometown. Now, it’s Voorhees (New Jersey) but I 
consider myself being from Brandon. 

When you think of your hometown, what's the first thing that 
comes to mind? Minus-40 and lots of snow! 

Every teenager can easily stray from his desired course. Who 
kept you straight? Well, I’m a firm believer in you give your 
kids values and then you allow your kids to sort of start to 
make their own decisions. So I’ve really got to credit my 
parents with kind of giving me values and morals. From there, I 
think I sort of took it on my own and kept myself straight with 
their guidance in earlier years. 

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