Jack Hextall figures his two-way game will serve him well, as the 2026 NHL Draft prospect makes the jump from the USHL to the NCAA this fall.
The 6-foot-1 centre will have some Flames company at school this year, too. Both Hextall and 2025 Calgary first-rounder Cullen Potter will be new guys on campus at highly-touted Michigan State when the upcoming season begins.
Potter, selected at No. 32 by Calgary a year ago, entered the NCAA transfer portal this spring after two collegiate campaigns at Arizona State. Hextall, a proud son of Rolling Meadows, Ill., has the NHL Draft to experience next, and the 18-year-old is excited for both new phases of his hockey career.
Coming off a 58-point season with the Youngstown Phantoms - a 24-point improvement from 2024-25 - Hextall credits Phantoms head coach Ryan Ward and his staff for putting him on the right track.
“I loved it there,” Hextall said of his two seasons in Ohio. “I felt like I definitely took a step or two in my game.
“The coaching staff there is awesome, and we get treated so well by management and the owners.”
With Hextall manning the middle of the ice, Youngstown posted its highest point total (87) in club history in 2025-26, a season that the pivot kickstarted by winning a gold medal with Team U.S.A. at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
A student of the game, Hextall told reporters at the NHL Combine in Buffalo this past weekend that he watches a lot of hockey to pick up tips for his own game, adding his goal when on the ice is to be impactful in all three zones.
“I think it's something I've always done … watching video, just watching a lot of hockey,” he recalled. “That's something (his 200-foot game) I've always taken pride in.
“I think it's easy to be good, or it's easier to be good just on offence, but if you can play both sides of the puck, then it's really helpful.”
That versatility is evident in his sporting background, too. Hextall wrestled growing up, then dabbled in lacrosse, baseball and basketball before finally shifting his focus full-time to hockey.
Ranked No. 34 by NHL Central Scouting on its final list of North American skaters, Hextall is eager to hear his name called come June 26-27 at the NHL Draft in Buffalo. After which, he’ll join Potter in East Lansing, Mich., becoming part of a Spartans club that’s won the Big Ten in two of the last three seasons, but is also gunning for their first Frozen Four appearance since 2007.
When asked about making the jump, he beamed at the thought of working with Michigan State head coach Adam Nightingale, as well as a familiar face - Spartans assistant Andy Contois - who was part of Youngstown’s staff during Hextall’s rookie year.
And it’s there, with the Spartan helmet on his chest, that Hextall will further tune his game to suit the NHL club that selects him in just over two weeks’ time.
All just a hop, skip and a jump from his Chicagoland home.
“Just their coaching staff,” said Hextall, when asked what made Michigan State stand out. “Just their ability to develop players.
“It's a pretty good school, and it’s three-and-a-half hours from home.”
