Brian Leetch was born in the year 1968 in Corpus Christi, Texas but grew up in the great state of Connecticut. He grew up playing baseball and hockey at Cheshire High school, Home of the Rams. Surprisingly, he was great at both baseball and hockey while many thought he would play pro ball, we know how that turned out – or you will shortly.
At Cheshire High School, he won a State Championship while on the baseball team but did not win one as a member of the Ice Hockey team. Crazy to think a Stanley Cup Champion did not win a State Championship but won a NHL championship. Leetch was the star pitcher of his team – throwing 90 mph. His talents on the mound and on the ice led him to Avon Old Farms, which is better known as AoF. AoF as produced many NHL stars in the likes of Cam Atkinson, John Quick, Matt Martin, and many other college stars.
At Cheshire High School, he won a State Championship while on the baseball team but did not win one as a member of the Ice Hockey team. Crazy to think a Stanley Cup Champion did not win a State Championship but won a NHL championship. Leetch was the star pitcher of his team – throwing 90 mph. His talents on the mound and on the ice led him to Avon Old Farms, which is better known as AoF. AoF as produced many NHL stars in the likes of Cam Atkinson, John Quick, Matt Martin, and many other college stars.
Leetch had set several records while at AoF in baseball for most strikeouts in a game at 19. He excelled in hockey (well duh, he was an NHL superstar) while at AoF as well, scoring 70 goals and 90 assists in 54 games, as a defenseman.
He went on to Boston College, where he only played in one season for the Eagles but he earned All-American honors. The summer before Leetch went to B.C. he was drafted 9th overall by – yes you guessed it – the New York Rangers. In his All-American season he had 47 points, 9 goals and 38 assists, in 37 games.
In his first season as a Ranger (1988-89) he had 71 points, which was good enough to win him the Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year) and he also was selected to the NHL All Rookie team. In 1992, he won the Norris Trophy (Best Defenseman) for his remarkable 100-point performance and he did so in only 80 games – again he was a defenseman – that is practically unheard of. To put it in perspective, Martin St. Louis, who is regarded as a great player, only had one 100-point performance – and he was a forward.
As any Ranger fan knows, if you don’t you should probably pick a new team to cheer for, the New York Rangers won the Stanley Cup in 1994. Something that I was reminded of constantly when I was around Bruins fans. When the Rangers won the “Cup” in ’94, Leetch won the Conn Smythe Trophy – awarded to the playoff MVP – making him the first non-Canadian to win it. This would solidify him as a Ranger favorite and he would eventually be the Captain of the New York Rangers when Mark Messier left, but he would later return it when he returned in 2000.
Leetch was then traded for Kondratiev, Jarkko Immonen, a first round pick and a second round pick (Michael Sauer) – essentially for nothing. The combination of the 4 played a total of 147 NHL games for the Rangers. Another questionable trade but hey it’s the Rangers so what else is new.
Janurary 24th, 2008. The day that Brian Leetch became a Ranger forever. His number was raised to the Rafters above The Garden ice, next to several other Rangers greats – Messier, Richter, Gilbert, Giacomin.
June 23rd, 2009. The day that Leetch would become apart of hockey history forever. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
I may have a biased opinion, but I think Leetch was the Greatest Ranger of All-Time. I think playing CT high school hockey, playing prep school hockey, and playing college hockey may have helped, as those were all things that I did. As Sam Rosen once said, “ This one will last a lifetime.”