CJOB’s Leah Hextall set to become first woman to call U.S. men’s college hockey finals

A veteran Manitoba sportscaster is heading to Rhode Island to make TV history.

680 CJOB’s own Leah Hextall is set to become the first woman to do play-by-play for the NCAA men’s hockey championship this weekend.

The Brandon native, who appears on 680 CJOB’s ‘Hextall on Hockey’, has been calling women’s games on Sportsnet, including the recent Clarkson Cup championship.

Hextall said she’s not sure if women have been left out of the play-by-play gig due to overt sexism, or if it’s just been a general lack of opportunity.

“I’m not even sure if it’s a gender line when it comes to the play-by-play role,” she told CJOB’s The Start on Wednesday.

“When I started my sports broadcasting career – and when you think about my background and being around hockey all my life – my goal was to work for Hockey Night in Canada as a reporter or studio host, because that’s what I had seen growing up.

“I never thought about doing play-by-play because I’d never seen women doing it. I don’t think there’s ever been someone closing a door saying, ‘no, we don’t want women in this role’.

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“I think it’s a very unique and different skill. You have to not only learn how to broadcast well, but you also need the skill of understanding the game at a different type of level – at a very fast level – which takes many years to accomplish as well.”

Hextall said calling the NCAA regional semifinals has its own challenges that she’d be facing regardless of gender.

“I’m trying to learn a league that I don’t talk about, a league that I don’t cover,” she said.

“It’s about 100 numbers and names that I’ve never heard of before, but I’ve spent the last 48 hours just immersed since we found the teams on Sunday. It’s a lot.”

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While Hextall said her foray into a male-dominated field has earned her the expected amount of online trolls, the overall reaction from hockey fans to a woman in the play-by-play booth has been a positive one.

“I would say that overwhelmingly, it’s been very positive. I’m really appreciative of that,” she said.

“I’m literally learning on national television. I’m really pleased with how supportive people have been with what I’m trying to do.”

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