I actually think it does a real disservice to Leah and the general idea of women doing play-by-play for men's sports when someone as unseasoned as her gets a national stage like this and then does poorly; for some, this will only serve to reinforce the out-of-date idea that women have no place in the men's game. Now we're having this discussion, and it's happening in a more undignified manner on social media, and she'd feel like shit if she knew about it.
But that's not her fault; I don't doubt that she's trying trying her hardest and has worked hard throughout her career. It's just that play-by-play jobs are really hard, and nothing compares to hockey. I've done college basketball and some baseball. Hard, but nothing like hockey. And studio work isn't really comparable, either, and doesn't mean shit as we've seen with men tossed into the role into the past (I'd say Buccigross is an example of this).
A big problem I heard with Hextall is her inability to identify players, which is especially important in a national telecast where I, as a fan of neither team, don't know the names to numbers like for my own team. But that's the thing--she's only going to get good at aspects like that, or when to get excited and how to describe certain moments, by practicing. But that kind of early-level practice shouldn't be happening at this level. It only makes her look bad (not her fault; should she have turned down the job?) but it makes ESPN look bad and makes it seem to some like women can't do the job well. (I've heard that with other sports, too, but then I've seen women do the job well, so that theory is obviously b.s.)
