A Look At Bryan Hextall
Long-form biography on Hockey Hall of Fame forward Bryan Hextall who scored the Stanley Cup winning goal for the New York Rangers in 1940.
Bryan Hextall was a strong and fearless power-forward on the ice. One of the best players of his time, there was a never a man in the league that could discourage Hex from going into corners. An iron-man of his day, Hextall rarely missed a game. In fact he played in more than 340 straight NHL games before sitting one out. "He was the hardest bodychecking forward I have seen in more than 40 years of watching hockey," said long time New York Sun reporter Herb Goren.
Hockey historian Joe Pelletier writes that, "Bryan Hextall was one of the highest skilled and most respected players ever to grace a sheet of NHL ice. He was the dominant right winger of the era directly before the arrival of Rocket Richard and Gordie Howe."
"There wasn't anyone like Bryan," recalled Rangers teammate Max Labovitch. "He was just this strong and amazing hockey player. I consider him to be the Superman of those 1940's Rangers teams."
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