Of all the things that I've done in my life...

being a Philadelphia Flyers fan is one of the hardest. Maybe next year.

Hexy in the Hall of Fame.

It's an awesome thing to see one of your favorite individuals get the recognition that they deserve, in their lifetime, and even more so while they are young and able to truly appreciate it. Last night, Number 27, Ron Hextall, in my opinion, one of the greatest goalies to ever grace us with his abilities, was inducted into the Philadelphia Flyers' Hall of Fame. Hexy made you want to watch hockey. Hexy made you want to play hockey. Hexy made you look at other goalies, past and present, and see where they were lacking. For his aggressive nature and raw ability, Philadelphia was the only place for Hextall. Truly, he was a Broad Street Brawler. When I was a teenager, Hexy, for me, was larger than life and the only validation needed for ESPN's "Hockey Night". Honestly, I could really go on, but I'll turn it over the the Flyers' site and Philly.com. (Philadelphia, PA) – Ron Hextall became the 19th member of the organization to be inducted into the Flyers Hall of Fame in an on-ice ceremony at the Wachovia Center during Wednesday night's Flyers-Washington Capitals game. Hextall, 43, appeared in 489 regular season games during his 11-year Flyers career (1986-87 through 1991-92 and 1994-95 through 1998-99 seasons), posting a 240-172-58 record and 2.91 goals-against average. His 489 games played and 240 wins as a Flyer rank him first all-time in Flyers history. In 84 playoff games for the Flyers, Hextall registered a 45-36 record and 2.95 GAA. His 45 playoff wins are the most in Flyers history. As a rookie during the 1986-87 season, Hextall posted a 37-21-6 record, 2.52 GAA and one shutout in 66 regular season games. He led the NHL in games played (66), wins (37) and minutes played (3,799). He compiled a 15-11 record, 2.77 GAA and two shutouts in 26 playoff games as the Flyers advanced to the 1987 Stanley Cup Finals. He was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team and NHL First All-Star Team for the 1986-87 season. In addition, he won the Vezina Trophy as “the goaltender adjudged to be the best at his position” and the Conn Smythe Trophy as “the most valuable player for his team in the playoffs”. The 1986-87 season was the first of five seasons that Hextall recorded 30 or more wins (only goaltender in Flyers history to post five 30-win seasons - 1986-87, 1987-88, 1988-89, 1995-96 and 1996-97). On December 8, 1987, Hextall became the first NHL goalie to score a goal by shooting the puck into the opposing net as the Flyers defeated the Boston Bruins at the Spectrum, 5-2. He repeated the feat when he became the first goalie to record a playoff goal as the Flyers defeated the Washington Capitals at the Capital Centre in Game Five of the Patrick Division Semifinals, 8-5, on April 11, 1989. He was traded by Flyers, along with Steve Duchesne, Peter Forsberg, Kerry Huffman, Mike Ricci, a first round pick in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft, $15 million and future considerations (Chris Simon and a first round pick in 1994 NHL Entry Draft) to the Quebec Nordiques in exchange for Eric Lindros on June 30, 1992. After two seasons with Quebec (1992-93) and the New York Islanders (1993-94), he was traded by the Islanders, along with a sixth round pick in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft, to the Flyers in exchange for Tommy Soderstrom on September 22, 1994. Over the final five seasons of his career (1994-95 through 1998-99), Hextall posted two 30-win seasons (31 in 1995-96 and 31 in 1996-97), led the NHL in GAA (2.17 GAA in 1995-96) and helped the Flyers to the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals. He still holds team records for most penalty minutes by a goaltender in one season (113 in 1988-89) and most points by a goaltender in one season (8 in 1988-89). The Flyers Hall of Fame was established in 1988 to permanently honor those individuals who have contributed to the franchise’s success. The Hall of Fame induction is held, as needed, with candidates nominated and voted upon by a panel of media members and team officials. The following people have been previously elected into the Flyers Hall of Fame: 1988 - Bob Clarke and Bernie Parent #1 1989 - Bill Barber, Ed Snider and Keith Allen 1990 - Rick MacLeish and Fred Shero 1991 - Barry Ashbee and Gary Dornhoefer 1992 - Reggie Leach and Gene Hart 1993 - Joe Scott and Ed Van Impe 1994 - Tim Kerr 1996 - Joe Watson 1999 - Brian Propp 2001 - Mark Howe 2004 - Dave Poulin Hextall nets special Flyers honor By Ray Parrillo Inquirer Staff Writer Even if you had your eyes closed, you knew Ron Hextall was guarding the net. All you had to do was listen, and you'd hear the loud clang of Hextall's stick against the uprights and the crossbar, a ritual but also a sort of siren call that the goalie was daring any shooter to come his way. Of course, when Hextall was playing goal for the Flyers 20 years ago, you wanted to keep your eyes open, focused on him, because you never knew what you might see. He was unique. When Hextall came into the NHL as a 22-year-old rookie for the 1986-87 season, the league had never quite seen anything like him: a tall, rangy, athletic goalie who wandered far out of the net to deftly stickhandle the puck. He'd go on to become the first goalie to score a goal by actually shooting the puck into the net. He did it twice. Hextall also used his stick in more violent ways, chopping down intruders around the crease as if they were so much timber. The league didn't always appreciate Hextall's stick-wielding, which is why it suspended him for eight games for slashing Kent Nilsson in the back of the leg during the 1987 Stanley Cup Finals against Edmonton. He still holds the record for most penalty minutes by a goalie, 113 in the 1988-89 season. And Hextall was a goalie who played with an anger that seethed just below his engaging, mild-mannered surface, a goalie with a hair-trigger temper who was quick to drop the gloves and join the fray. Who can forget Hextall's racing out of the net and throwing his blocker at Chris Chelios in Game 6 of the conference finals in 1989 to avenge a vicious hit Chelios made on Brian Propp earlier in the series? Tonight at the Wachovia Center, Hextall, now assistant general manager with the Los Angeles Kings, will become the 19th member of the Flyers' organization to be inducted into the team's Hall of Fame, and the first since Dave Poulin in 2004. Before the game, there will be a highlight video and a ceremonial puck drop. Between the first and second periods, Hextall will be joined on the ice by his family for a tribute video and the induction. "It means a great deal," Hextall said yesterday by telephone from Los Angeles. "Everybody knows I have extremely strong ties to the Flyers and to the city of Philadelphia. To be honored means a lot to me, and to have my family and friends there, and obviously the fans, it's going to be great." The Flyers' promotions department will have little trouble filling the jumbo video screen with highlights from Hextall's colorful past. A year after Vezina Trophy winner Pelle Lindbergh was killed when he drove his turbocharged Porsche into a wall in front of Somerdale Elementary School in South Jersey, Flyers coach Mike Keenan made Hextall, just up from the minors, his No. 1 goalie. In his first game, Hextall stopped Wayne Gretzky on a breakaway to preserve a 2-1 Flyers win over Edmonton. According to Full Spectrum, a detailed history of the Flyers by Jay Greenberg, Gretzky said to Hextall, "Who the hell are you?" Hextall snapped back at The Great One, "Who the hell are you?" The victory was the start of an unforgettable season by Hextall and a young Flyers team. With some of the most remarkable goaltending by any netminder from any era, Hextall strapped the Flyers onto his back and carried them into the seventh game of the Stanley Cup Finals against Edmonton, probably the greatest offensive power in NHL history. Hextall was spectacular in Game 6 at the Spectrum, which shook from the crowd's roar after J.J. Daigneault scored to complete a come-from-behind 3-2 win over the Oilers. To this day, just about anyone who was inside the Spectrum that night of May 28, 1987, says they never heard a louder arena. "Winning Game 6 at the Spectrum was absolutely insane," Hextall recalled. "One of the best moments of my career, if not the best." The series shifted back to Edmonton for the ultimate game and, again, the 6-foot-3 Hextall was brilliant, holding off the Oilers until Glenn Anderson scored with three minutes remaining to seal a 3-1 Flyers loss. Long after the game, a tearful Hextall sat in the corner of the locker room, too devastated to remove his uniform. The pain, he said, still lingers. "I can't explain to people how difficult that was for not only myself but every guy in that room," he said. "To be so close and to have gone through what we went through for the two months leading up to Game 7 and to be sitting in that locker room after the game with a hollow feeling, that all that work kind of went for naught. "I mean, I can say it took me two, three months that summer to kind of get over the real, real stinging part. But there's a pain there that will never go away for me." Hextall won the Vezina Trophy and became only the fourth player from a losing team to win the Conn Smythe Trophy, awarded to the most valuable player in the playoffs. At the time, it seemed impossible that Hextall could repeat such a stunning rookie season. For various reasons, including injuries that forced him to alter his style, he never did. "That's a special team and special year for me," he said. He never allowed a goal he didn't think he should have stopped, and he was always man enough to accept blame. The goalie was included in the huge package the Flyers sent to Quebec for the rights to Eric Lindros in June 1992. Hextall returned to the Flyers in '94 for five more seasons and helped reenergize a team that had gone five straight years without making the playoffs. Hextall, who had boldly predicted he would one day score a goal, did so early in his second season, against Boston on Dec. 8, 1987. (He repeated the feat against Washington in 1989.) Eight years earlier, the Islanders' Billy Smith had been credited with a goal because he was the last offensive player to touch the puck. But Hextall became the first to shoot it into the net. "I remember [the media] bugging me every day: When are you going to score a goal? When are you going to score a goal?" Hextall recalled. "I remember the fans started to chant whenever the net was empty. I was like, just give me time. I was looking for the right opportunity, and it presented itself."

40 Years and I've been a fan for 30 of them.

I've never been one for conventional anything. Early as a kid I had to scramble to get my fix. While other kids were giving a shit about basketball and people were swooning over the Kentucky Wildcats, I was in the cockpit with A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti. While kids my age wanted to be Johnny Bench or Pete Rose, I wanted to be like Bobby Orr, Gordie Howe, Dave Hawerchuck, Bobby Clarke,Phil Esposito, Brett Hull, and so many others. Yeah, I played local sports... Baseball and football, but I never wanted to be any of those players. Hockey has been in my soul for as long as I can remember. I remember when ESPN first came on. I was no longer forced to sit in the corner of highlight reel hell, I was now able to main-line it. Ahhhhhh, sweet addiction. Sitting up 'til 1AM or later because of the knuckle biting single, double, and triple-overtimes. I saw Ron Hextall score that kick-ass goal. Actually, Hextall is one of my all time favorite hockey players. Long before I ever got to see a hockey game, I was listening via shortwave to the Flyers. Yes, I said shortwave radio. Like I said, I've been a fan all my life. How obsessed was I? I graduated high school in eastern Kentucky, I played football for my high school. My class ring has a hockey player on it. Yeah, I'm a fan, from the sticks where people had no idea what hockey was and didn't/don't know that icing doesn't only happen on a cake. Over my lifetime, so far, I've been torn. Some of you may remember when we had divisions, instead of this East/West shit. When the Blackhawks were in the Campbell -Norris-Central Division and the Flyers were in the Patrick Division-Eastern Conference. There were many other configurations, but we don't need to go into the intricacies of that as this time. Anyway, back to the being torn business. I'm a Blackhawks/Flyers fan. Yeah, I know, and I don't want to hear it. It's the way it is and it will never change. While I always admired the speed and ability of the "Red Menace", the finesse and heart will always belong to my two teams. A lot of shit has happened in the these last 40 years... I thought that we were sunk not too long ago, and it seemed that many people didn't care. I'll save the rant about how we need to restructure the league for another post. There really isn't enough time or space for me to expound on my love for the sport and all that it has brought me in my life. It was tough being such a fan, and not having a single person to discuss my favorite sport with. It's still tough. The only reprieve that I was ever granted was when I lived in Pittsburgh... I don't remember a day that passed where we didn't discuss hockey from all eras. So, as he season opens, and my Blackhawks have lost and my Flyers have won their respective openers, I'll stop attempting to explain my love of the sport to you, as you'll never get it if you're not a fan, and if you're a fan, you already know. I now have a son to pass all of this on to, so I am no longer alone. He'll probably end up a Bruins fan or some shit. ;D GAME ON!! LET"S GO FLYERS!!! Sorry guys, I had to take down the Flyers 40th Anniversary vid. It was overpowering everything else on the blog. Yeah, I know, it hurt me too.