Ron Hextall: Stickin' It to the Man

Digging through a rarely-opened drawer in my home office, I happened upon an 8 1/2 x 11 photo of Ron Hextall, standing at his net with the old-school brown pads, white helmet, and blank boards in the background. It instantly brought back memories and, admittedly, a few goose bumps. Simply put, Ron Hextall was my boy.

Realizing, as a boy, that I shared a birthday (May 3) with Mr. Hextall, I developed an instant connection to the Flyers' goalie of the late 80s to early 90s, skip a couple years, and late 90s. I even grew up in the same town where he lived and practiced (Voorhees, NJ). But most importantly, he and I shared an innate love for swinging a stick and clanging the goalposts. I always got a mini-thrill of his mini-warmup routine where he would swing his stick back and forth against the posts, creating a distinct ring that echoed throughout the raucous Spectrum and would even be heard on TV. Ah, memories.

Of course the fact that he was an exciting and aggressive showman didn't hurt either.

I don't think anybody will forget Hextall's attack on Chris Chelios after Chelios took a cheap shot at Brian Propp in an earlier game, giving the unsuspecting Flyer a concussion to knock him out of the playoffs. This was the ultimate case of standing up for your teammates.

Nor will they forget Hextall's goal, as he launched the puck into an open net, the first time a goalie did so in NHL history.

Nor will anybody forget his slash on Ken Nilson in the Stanley Cup.

And let's not forget the 100+ penalty minutes that were assessed on him in two different seasons. No other goalie in history has come close to 100 in one season, mind you.

I could go on... but you get the drill.

Nowadays, the Flyers' goalkeepers are just downright dull and, well, forgettable, a far cry from Hextall, the Broad Street Bully/Goalie of recent years. I just can't help but wonder: Where did the goaltending passion go?

Perhaps somebody needs to take out a goalie stick and just start swingin...