Leah Hextall

In 2020, Leah made history as the first woman to call play-by-play for an NHL game on Sportsnet. The landmark broadcast received national acclaim for Leah and the network as the game was called by an all-female broadcast team.

Leah also made history a year prior as the first woman to call play-by-play for the men’s NCAA Division I Hockey Tournament for ESPN.

In a 2018 article in the Globe and Mail, Scott Moore, former president of Sportsnet and NHL properties, declared Leah a “trailblazer.” Mike “Doc” Emrick, Hall of Fame play-by-play broadcaster for NBC Sports told The Athletic, he believes Leah will be the first woman to do play-by-play for an NHL team.

Over the past 17 years, Leah has been an on-air presence for the largest networks in North America: ESPN, Sportsnet, Hockey Night in Canada and NESN

Land Acknowledgement

The Canadian Sport Centre Manitoba acknowledges that our offices are situated on Treaty 1 Land, the original lands of the Anishinaabe, Cree, Ojibway-Cree, Dakota, and Dene Peoples, and on the homeland of the Métis Nation.

The Treaties made on these territories are respected by all those who work at CSCM. We acknowledge the harms and mistakes of the past that were made. In a spirit of collaboration and reconciliation, we dedicate ourselves to continually move forward in partnership with Indigenous communities for ongoing education and learning.

We understand that acknowledging this truth, though important, is only a small part in cultivating the strong relationships we strive to build and maintain with Indigenous communities. We continue to work towards this, with particular attention being paid to the sport specific calls to action #87-91 from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

We recognize we are not the first to live on this land, and thank these Nations for allowing us access to their land and water.