Hextall signs

[MissSioux85]

According to twitter, Hextall signed

Coyotes GM Don Maloney announced that he has signed forward Brett Hextall to an entry-level contract. Son of Ron.

@schlossmangf Brett Hextall has signed with Phoenix, according to the organization.

Only article I could find thus far

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/coyotes/articles/2011/04/22/20110422phoenix-coyotes-brett-hextall-contract.html

[sioux rube]

According to twitter, Hextall signed

And alot of you doubted me when I said he was going to sign. Shame on you.

[jimdahl]

Phoenix Coyotes sign Brett Hextall -- AZCentral.com

[stoneySIOUX]

Phoenix Coyotes sign Brett Hextall -- AZCentral.com

Good to know they know a lot about Hexy.... We only made one Frozen Four while he was here.

Big time bummer. I wish Brett all the best and his style of play will certainly be missed. We need someone to be able to take the agitator role and someone to take it very quickly. His skill set wasn't the best on the team but his compete level was always at a top level. You'll be missed Hexy. Good luck

[Goon]

Good to know they know a lot about Hexy.... We only made one Frozen Four while he was here.

Big time bummer. I wish Brett all the best and his style of play will certainly be missed. We need someone to be able to take the agitator role and someone to take it very quickly. His skill set wasn't the best on the team but his compete level was always at a top level. You'll be missed Hexy. Good luck

I sent the Yotes a Tweet on that...

[Runninwiththedogs]

Good to know they know a lot about Hexy.... We only made one Frozen Four while he was here.

Big time bummer. I wish Brett all the best and his style of play will certainly be missed. We need someone to be able to take the agitator role and someone to take it very quickly. His skill set wasn't the best on the team but his compete level was always at a top level. You'll be missed Hexy. Good luck

Lol you actually posted here!

Hextall might be back in UND's backyard fairly soon...

[NorthDakotaHockey]

Well this is a disappointment. Best of luck to Brett. Load up the i-Pod Brett, because the grind and the long bus rides, that could have easily waited another year, are going to get old and be brutal.

There is plenty of talent stacked up behind Brett that has been waiting on the pine to step in and take his place. Heck, we will probably be skating short-handed a lot less. There are silver linings in almost every cloud.

[stoneySIOUX]

Well this is a disappointment. Best of luck to Brett. Load up the i-Pod Brett, because the grind and the long bus rides, that could have easily waited another year, are going to get old and be brutal.

There is plenty of talent stacked up behind Brett that has been waiting on the pine to step in and take his place. Heck, we will probably be skating short-handed a lot less. There are silver linings in almost every cloud.

Lol you make that sound like he won't enjoy it.... Even if he is making 50,000 dollars a year, he's playing hockey for a living. Life will be so hard Good luck Brett! You'll be missed

[stoneySIOUX]

Lol you actually posted here!

Hextall might be back in UND's backyard fairly soon...

I do my best to stay off these things. As you have seen, it's a lot of BS most of the time with people that I feel don't really know what they are talking about. Like I do right haha....

[siouxu31]

Well this is a disappointment. Best of luck to Brett. Load up the i-Pod Brett, because the grind and the long bus rides, that could have easily waited another year, are going to get old and be brutal.

There is plenty of talent stacked up behind Brett that has been waiting on the pine to step in and take his place. Heck, we will probably be skating short-handed a lot less. There are silver linings in almost every cloud.

You sound like you have gone down the same path. Have you played D1 college hockey and played minor league pro hockey. If so I respect your opinion. If not, you just sound bitter like an ex-girlfriend. If you could quit your current job and play a professional sport (while traveling numerous miles on a bus) to make a living, would you do it? I am guessing by your statement that you would probably keep working your same old job and not do it because of all the bus travel.

[andtheHomeoftheSIOUX!!]

Hextall might be back in UND's backyard fairly soon...

There is just nothing like playing hockey in the valley!

[DAR]

There is just nothing like playing hockey in the valley!

Come on Gregs....come back for your senior year!!

[NorthDakotaHockey]

You sound like you have gone down the same path. Have you played D1 college hockey and played minor league pro hockey. If so I respect your opinion. If not, you just sound bitter like an ex-girlfriend. If you could quit your current job and play a professional sport (while traveling numerous miles on a bus) to make a living, would you do it? I am guessing by your statement that you would probably keep working your same old job and not do it because of all the bus travel.

Not me. Can hardly skate a lick. I've been a girlfriend once or twice. Even bitter on rare occasion. I have no clue what all went into Brett's decision- making process. He must have had reasoned counsel in his ear. I just figure that kids on the fringe, like Hextall, will develop just as easily at most D-1 programs as they will riding the circuit of some minor league. Maybe the money was not going to be there in a year. I don't think that Brett will ever see more than a cup of coffee in the NHL. The AHL is an unlikely stretch as well. Banking the remainder of his education now, while having the chance to showcase his skills, both as a leader and as a player, on national TV at the collegiate level for another year just strikes me as the better play for his circumstances. The money would still come, maybe more so.

If I could quit my job to drive from town-to-town with my golf clubs in the trunk and stay in cut rates while chasing the satellite golf tours, would I? That's a good question. If I was Brett's age, I suppose I would for a year or five. After I had secured my fall back position. Sadly, perhaps, I am now just an old man who fishes the big waters alone.

[Let'sGoHawks!]

Ask Zach Parise about the minors vs UND

[bigskyvikes]

Ask Zach Parise about the minors vs UND

Definately +1

[Boomer 40AAA]

I say congratulations to Hextall.This is a life long dream he is persuing.It is not just the 3 years he was here.He is 23 years old and probably has not even had a paying job.He is a college student and what student wouldn't take a job paying $65000 for 6 months and add to that a sizeable signing bonus.More power to him and good luck at the next level.You came here to make yourself a better player and you achieved that.Thanks for the effort.

[bang]

Congrats Brett, I wish you luck. Don't let the best years of life end up in Grand Forks ND or in some junior hockey rink in Canada. Your best years are ahead of you. I hope to see you on TV a couple of years from now on Saturday night (CBC hockey night in Canada).

[tho0505]

Congrats to Hextall! WIsh him the best. Gotta strike while the irons hot, can't blame him for signing at all.

[siouxkid12]

i cant wait to get a brett hextall winnipeg jets jersey!

[siouxkid12]

Not me. Can hardly skate a lick. I've been a girlfriend once or twice. Even bitter on rare occasion. I have no clue what all went into Brett's decision- making process. He must have had reasoned counsel in his ear. I just figure that kids on the fringe, like Hextall, will develop just as easily at most D-1 programs as they will riding the circuit of some minor league. Maybe the money was not going to be there in a year. I don't think that Brett will ever see more than a cup of coffee in the NHL. The AHL is an unlikely stretch as well. Banking the remainder of his education now, while having the chance to showcase his skills, both as a leader and as a player, on national TV at the collegiate level for another year just strikes me as the better play for his circumstances. The money would still come, maybe more so.

If I could quit my job to drive from town-to-town with my golf clubs in the trunk and stay in cut rates while chasing the satellite golf tours, would I? That's a good question. If I was Brett's age, I suppose I would for a year or five. After I had secured my fall back position. Sadly, perhaps, I am now just an old man who fishes the big waters alone.

With the way the job market is I say go for it. Yes, if he stays he has a college education but that doesn't get you much these days as a lot of people are out of jobs and taking whatever they can get. If he can develop his hockey skills and make some pretty good money playing a sport he loves, so be it. Is it disheartening that he is leaveing, yes but he has deserves every bit of support from us Sioux fans as his journey into the professional ranks starts now.

[UNDPUCKS]

Brett, thanks for playing for UND. I enjoyed your time with the team on the ice and your sense of humor on the award winning Brad Miller Time. Good luck on your path to the NHL. Hopefully you can swap Fighting Sioux stories with your next coach. Have a mustache growing contest with him.

[almostheavenin2011]

I hope he likes playing in the Orleans Hotel and Casino's arena for a year or two. Good arena with a fair amount of fans at each game. A lot of real decent players to play with there also. Their roster should be quite familiar to a lot of people here being they have a lot of ex-college players there. The Meadows will be alot of fun for him.

[The Sicatoka]

I'm trying to figure this out, and I think I have.

Brett is 23. The report is that he signed a two-year deal. That makes sense given the information in the "Entry-level Contract" thread.

So if Brett were to stay at UND another year, he'd be 24 and only be able to sign a one-year deal (see same link).

That's one year to make or break with your pro team. By signing now Brett has two years to catch on with the PHX organization.

Given all that, Brett made the choice that I think (with all that information) I would have recommended to him.

[The Sicatoka]

Now, let's look at Gregoire. Hextall is almost a full year (10.5 months) older than Gregoire.

Gregoire is 22 right now. Per that same link, Gregoire can only sign a two-year deal (22 and 23 year olds can only sign two-year deals). But he could sign a two-year deal a year from now also.

Would Gregoire be better off signing now with two-years to try to stick with the NYI organization, or ...

Would he be better off playing a senior year, and still being able to sign a two-year entry deal a year from now, and then evaluating all of his possibilities, including (having played four college years) waiting to sign until August 15, 2012 when he becomes a free-agent able to sign a two-year deal with anyone?

To me, staying for his senior year at UND puts Gregoire no worse off for a contract duration, but may make him more valuable (potential free-agent).

And staying gives him three years (one at UND, two on the entry contract) to become the best player he can when it comes time to sign a first non-entry level contract. (Signing now only gives him two years to develop to that key milestone.)

[sagard]

Now, let's look at Gregoire. Hextall is almost a full year (10.5 months) older than Gregoire.

His choice is easy if it is believed he can play in the NHL next year like Nick Leddy believed he could.

His choice gets cloudier if with the Isles he gets a rookie max deal, but is only likely to get nine NHL games and the rest AHL. Then his pay he is turning down by staying another year is roughly $90K (max signing bonus) + $60K (AHL Pay) + $90K (Prorated NHL Pay for nine games) or all told roughly $240K for next year. This is a good amount of money, but gets him no closer to his second contract. It also allows the Isles to limit their losses in a big way if he can't cut it. This is what Okposo got by leaving mid season.

If I were advising him I'd be pressuring the Isles to give him a longer than nine game look at the NHL next year. If the Isles were able to convince me he'd get a fair opportunity to play 10+ games in the NHL next year based on merit, I'd advise him to leave. If they never indicate substantial NHL opportunity for next year, I have him return to UND and potentially explore free agency.

My guess is that this won't get settled until late summer after he skates with Isles organization and they get a better feel for if he is NHL ready for 2011-12.