Hextall, Ronald
Hockey
b. May 3, 1964, Winnipeg, MAN
After six rather undistinguished seasons in the minor leagues, Hextall joined the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers in 1986 and had an outstanding season. He won the Vezina Trophy as the league's top goaltender, was runner-up to Luc Robitaille for the Calder Cup as rookie of the year, and went on to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
His consistency is shown by the fact that he played in 66 regular season games and had a 3.00 goals-against average with only 1 shutout. He was even better in Stanley Cup play, with 2 shutouts and a 2.77 goals-against average in 26 games.
That was his best season to date. Hextall missed most of the 198-/90 season and much of the 1990-91 season with a series of injuries. He was traded to the Quebec Nordiques in 1992 and to the New York Islanders in 1993.
Hextall returned to the Flyers for the 1994-95 season. He became a backup to John Vanbiesbrouck in 1998 and retired after being waived by the Flyers in 1999.
