Dennis Hextall (born April 17, 1943) is a former professional hockey forward who spent most of his career with the

Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...

and

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

. He is the son of

Bryan Hextall Bryan Aldwyn Hextall (July 31, 1913 – July 25, 1984) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played for the New York Rangers in the National Hockey League (NHL). Considered one of the top wingers of the 1940s, he led the NHL in goal ...

, brother of Bryan Hextall Jr., uncle of

Ron Hextall Ronald Jeffrey Hextall (born May 3, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender and executive. He is the current general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). Hextall played 13 seasons for ...

and sportscaster

Leah Hextall Leah Hextall (born ) is a Canadian sports journalist and ice hockey play-by-play broadcaster. In March 2020, she became the first woman to call play-by-play for a nationally televised NHL game as part of Sportsnet’s first all-female broadc ...

, and great-uncle of AHL player

Brett Hextall Brett Hextall (born April 2, 1988) is an Americans, American-born Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey player and current coach, who played four seasons in the American Hockey League (AHL) for the Portland Pirates and Lehigh Va ...

Personal

Hextall was born in Poplar Point, a community 33 km northeast of

Portage la Prairie, Manitoba Portage la Prairie () is a small city in the Central Plains Region of Manitoba, Canada. As of 2016, the population was 13,304 and the land area of the city was . Portage la Prairie is approximately west of Winnipeg, along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

, in 1943.

Career

Hextall played two years at the University of North Dakota, then played briefly in the

Eastern Hockey League The Eastern Hockey League was a minor professional United States ice hockey league. Eastern Amateur Hockey League (1933–1953) The league was founded in 1933 as the Eastern Amateur Hockey League (EAHL). The league was founded by Tommy Lockhart, ...

Central Professional Hockey League The Central Professional Hockey League was a minor professional ice hockey league that operated in the United States from 1963 to 1984. Named the Central Hockey League for the 1968–69 season and forward, it was owned and operated by the Natio ...

, and

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL). He broke into the NHL with the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

during the 1968 playoffs. Over the next few years he jumped back and forth between the AHL and NHL, spending time with the Rangers,

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

and

California Golden Seals The California Golden Seals were a professional ice hockey club that competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1967 to 1976. Based in Oakland, California, they played their home games at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena. The S ...

. In 1972 he secured a spot with the

, for whom he played five seasons. He then spent four seasons with the

and two more with the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL) ...

. In thirteen NHL seasons he played 681 games and recorded 153 goals, 350 assists, 503 points, and 1398 penalty minutes. Hextall is currently on the board of directors of the Detroit Red Wings alumni team, and is active in its efforts to raise money for children's charities in

Metro Detroit The Detroit metropolitan area, often referred to as Metro Detroit, is a major metropolitan area in the U.S. State of Michigan, consisting of the city of Detroit and its surrounding area. There are varied definitions of the area, including the ...

. He is also the coaching director for the Victory Honda AAA hockey club. In September 2009, Hextall was named the President and Commissioner of the International Hockey League, a mid-level minor hockey league based in the northern

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

Awards and honours

* AHL Second All-Star Team (1969) *Played in

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

All-Star Game (1974 & 1975) *"Honoured Member" of the

Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame The Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame and Museum is a hall of fame and museum for ice hockey in Manitoba, located on the main level of the Canada Life Centre in downtown Winnipeg. It was established in 1985, when the first honoured members were named an ...

* Member of the

Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame The Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum is a Canadian museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba, dedicated to honoring the history and achievements of sports in Manitoba. The organization began in 1980, and then opened a museum in The Forks in 1993. Afte ...

(2008)

Career statistics

References

External links