As the Stanley Cup Playoffs continue the swan song for the NHL on NBC, ESPN and Turner Sports continue to add to their list of broadcasters, hosts, and personalities that will shape the voice of the league on the two networks for the next seven years.
In their latest move, ESPN is reportedly hiring Leah Hextall to be a regular play-by-play broadcaster for the network’s National coverage, according to the New York Post. Hextall will become the first woman in a play-by-play role to be part of the regular National broadcast team.
ESPN signs Leah Hextall in historic NHL play-by-play hire https://t.co/lm4KAPbDxu pic.twitter.com/0btnsGLqJO
— New York Post (@nypost) May 17, 2021
Hextall, who was part of the broadcast on ESPN during the historic five-overtime game between North Dakota and Minnesota-Duluth during this year’s NCAA Men’s Frozen Four tournament, which also featured Blackhawks prospect Wyatt Kaiser, has been part of NHL and hockey broadcasting for the past 17 years working as a studio host for NESN and SportsNet as well as working play-by-play for the CWHL and WHL. She made history in Canada last season, becoming the first woman to do play-by-play on a Canadian broadcast on SportsNet.
Hextall joins a broadcast team at ESPN that already includes Steve Levy, Ray Ferraro, Sean McDonough, and Brian Boucher, with more sure to come in the next few weeks.