Jack Hextall is an extremely skillful playmaker with bags of confidence in his one on one abilities. Loves leading breakouts from his own end and being “The Guy”, and with good reason, he is a dynamic player on the puck and as a result he constantly wants it on his stick. He scans the ice well before building up speed to knife through the defense and break into the offensive zone. A fluid skater with great agility, his shiftiness in the neutral zone is a headache for defenders as he bobs and weaves in and out of pressure. A great passer of the puck, he has a knack for knowing where his teammates are at all times or where they are looking to go and is able to find them with the puck consistently and accurately. He is patient on the puck, occasionally to a fault as he gets caught out from time to time, but he maintains a level head in tight situations and is able to find narrow passing windows in the split second they’re open. He has a great feel for his passes and his passing range is even more impressive than his ability to complete them. His movement off the puck into open spaces keeps the defense shuffling and keeps himself as an option to receive the puck once again. He plays a high octane game and one that involves a defensive work ethic as he looks to get back on the offensive as quickly as possible. A real terror on the ice, Hextall is a big talent in this class.

The most impressive player at the showcase in my opinion, Jack Hextall, looked exceptional. The clear primary playmaker of his team, he tried a vast array of passes by length and difficulty and was able to pull many of them off and generate chances instantly. He supported his passes well by getting into openings to receive the puck again if required, and he wanted the puck back on his stick just so he could set someone else up with another chance. He wanted to be the guy to unlock the defenses and he was doing it and was a joy to watch in the process. He used his body well in corner battles to protect the puck with a wide stance and low center of gravity, before quickly peeling away from his man and finding another passing lane to feed the puck into. His deft touch on short passes was impressive, and his ability to create space for himself by taking these little touches around the defender made it look easy. He is agile and was able to make adjustments on the fly as he recognized a problem, and he quickly rerouted things to try and keep things flowing. He crashed the net well and followed plays instead of watching after he made key passes and got some quality net front chances as a result. There were times where he tried to do it all instead of taking the easy option and it resulted in turnovers, chances for the other team, and even a goal, but Hextall looked very good against some of the top competition and it’s clear why he was able to break the 100 point barrier last year.

Another skilled playmaker that was strutting his stuff, Jack Hextall was able to play a creative game and contribute to the offense his team was pumping out. A great handler of the puck, he often gained possession in his own zone and was able to take a few strides to wind up before leading the charge up the ice. He was very assured in possession in his own end and he showed a nice fluid acceleration as he gained a head of steam entering the neutral zone and he was tough to stop given how light he was on his skates. He was seemingly aware of where his teammates were at all times or where they were planning on going, and he was able to find them with the puck with relative ease and consistency. He showed patience on the puck and allowed plays to develop before making the pass.

It was on full display today why Jack is regarded as one of the top skaters in his age group. The ease in which he pulls pucks passed defenders and into space is quite frankly insane. Given his skill set distribution and shooting the puck, allowing him any time and space is killer. On the 5-1 goal, Jack had an incredible individual effort where he beat a defender with a toe drag, then cut back against the grain, and slotted the shot right under the bar. No one stood a chance. He also had a ton of nifty set-ups where he was throwing passes through lanes, sticks, and skates with ease.

I wasn’t terribly impressed with Hextall’s first two periods to be honest, though he did score an excellent individual goal to tie things up late in the first period. Great work pressuring the point, getting his stick on the puck to spring himself on a breakaway, and a very neat finish - I thought that was going to be the launch pad for Chicago. The third period and overtime had Jack Hextall’s fingerprints all over it, tallying three assists in the final frame and creating plenty more opportunities for his teammates in the process. When they were up against the wall Hextall took center stage and began to demand the puck on his stick and create plays by finding really tight passing windows and whipping pucks into them relentlessly. He kept an eye at the back post and tried to pick that pass out several times, connecting on it when he found Kalder Varga to knot things up. He got a few nice opportunities in the extra frame on 3 on 3 with some open ice, using his skill to work openings for himself and possessing the puck to draw out the defense. His play was really strong and he was as influential as anyone late in the game.

Jack Hextall was about as impactful as you can be without registering a point, he was constantly on the puck and showing how effective he can be as a playmaker. He was making tape to tape passes all across the zone and showcased his wide passing range as he connected on long stretch passes or feathering the puck into areas from in close, his touch was perfect. He made it very difficult to defend though because when the defense started to anticipate the passes he was quick to step into the space himself and get a shot on goal. He was a dual threat in this game as he mixed up his decisions on the puck and quickly accelerated into the center of the ice from the boards after realizing the passing lanes were closed, firing heavy shots on goal and forcing some tough saves from the goalie. He was very involved and his ability to hurt Long Island as a shooter or playmaker made him incredibly difficult to shut down, and that did not go unnoticed by Hextall.

Hextall was the most consistent and efficient forward throughout the entirety of this game. He possesses great vision in the offensive zone which he uses to spot passing options from across the ice and execute difficult passes through traffic. He was quite the threat transporting the puck through the neutral zone as well, as he demonstrated the ability to maintain his speed upon receiving passes and drive wide around defenders. He’s one of the better puck managers I’ve seen throughout this event, often making quick and calculated decisions and then jumping into open pockets of ice to immediately make himself a passing option for teammates. The two goals he scored in this game came from smart off-puck positioning, coming off a deflection in the first period and a tap in goal from the crease in the second.

One of the players that impressed me for Team Gray in this game was Jack Hextall, a very capable puck carrier who often found himself as the man on the puck in his own end responsible for launching the breakout. He looked very composed, handling it in his own end and circling around the back of the net to build up some speed before wheeling through the neutral zone. He was an effective playmaker for his team and showed great chemistry, knowing where his teammates should be and would end up in and feeding the puck into those areas of the ice. He and Cole Bumgarner were operating as though they have played together for years in this contest, they were key contributors in this one.