Hextall looks to continue momentum at 2026 NHL Scouting Combine

The 2026 NHL Scouting Combine presented by Fanatics is taking place this week at KeyBank Center and LECOM HarborCenter in Buffalo. The combine will allow NHL teams an opportunity to conduct interviews and provide physical and medical assessments of the top prospects eligible for the 2026 Upper Deck NHL Draft. NHL.com will bring you all the sights and stories.

BUFFALO -- Jack Hextall made it a point to be too good to ignore in the American junior hockey ranks with a performance to remember at the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Slovakia last August.

Sure, NHL scouts were aware of the right-shot center with Youngstown of the United States Hockey League, but this was a chance to prove himself against the best under-18 aged players in the world.

He did just that, scoring seven points (two goals, five assists) in five games in a gold medal-winning effort for the United States. On a line with Blake Zielinski and Noah Davidson, Hextall became one of the team's most reliable players.

"I was just playing with really good players and the coaches put me in really good situations, and I just worked as hard as I could," Hextall said. "It was just awesome and it was a really fun tournament to play in."

Zielinski, who starred for Des Moines (USHL) this season, led Team USA with nine points (four goals, five assists) and tied Hextall for the team lead in assists. The right-handed shot, who has 55 points (25 goals, 30 assists) in 53 games with the Buccaneers, is committed to Providence College in 2026-27.

"I think we had a number of connections at Hlinka where he made a tight turn and looked a guy off and hit me and we ended up scoring," Zielinski said. "I think he's so smart with the puck and understands where we're going to be and that goes a long way to forming that chemistry."

Hextall is looking to make an equally memorable impression at the 2026 NHL Scouting Combine this week in Buffalo. He has 25 scheduled club interviews and will participate in all the testing on Friday and Saturday.

Hextall's newfound confidence at Hlinka was unmistakable, and it reshaped his trajectory in the scouting circles prior to his second season at Youngstown.

"He's a complete 200-foot centerman ... I'm not sure that in my four years in the USHL, I've seen a centerman play as complete a game as Jack," Youngstown coach Ryan Ward said. "Unfortunately, we're in a day and age where if you're looking at elite prospects, you want to see guys that have 100 points. But the reality of the situation is, Jack cares a (heck) of a lot about every facet of the game, whether it's shutting teams down in critical moments or needing a momentum shift in the offensive zone. He takes that personally and wants to make sure that he's the most complete player that he can possibly be.

"The way he sees the ice and makes plays, his heaviness in the offensive zone, his willingness to go out and compete, his physicality, his edge that he plays with. He's taken steps every single month in the two years that he's been in Youngstown and looks like a man possessed."

Hextall (6-foot, 188 pounds), No. 34 on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters, had 58 points (20 goals, 38 assists) and 31 power-play points (nine goals, 22 assists) in 59 regular-season games with the Phantoms. He's committed to Michigan State University in 2026-27.

"I think it's just being more comfortable playing against older players, and the USHL is a hard league," Hextall said. "Obviously, my first year I adjusted and then, my second year (2025-26), I was more comfortable."

He said he thrives in pressure moments.

"I think it just brings the best out of you," Hextall said. "I think it's fun and shows the competitive spirit you have. Those pressure games are the best to play and those situations are the best to be involved in."

David Gregory, NHL Central Scouting's associate director, appreciates Hextall's desire to deliver in pressure-packed moments.

"I like that he said that (he likes pressure) because the games that are big, that I've seen him in, he rises to the occasion," Gregory said. "He can play with pace and can play physical if he has to possess the puck. He also has really good hands, lateral movement, and vision. He's a complete package. ... Someone I think is a student of the game and how to play it in all zones."

Ward believes the sky's the limit for Hextall in the type of player he could become at the next level.

"For me, he's a bona fide top six NHL center," Ward said. "He's extremely intelligent on the power play, our first player out the door on the penalty kill. I just feel like he's going to continue to develop as a well-rounded, 200-foot center that's going to play in the NHL for a long time."