NHL scouts were starting to take notice and the New York Rangers chose Leetch as their first-round pick (9th overall) in 1986, making him the first player drafted that year who did not play major junior hockey. These numbers were especially remarkable for a defenseman. In two seasons with Avon Old Farms, Leetch scored 70 goals and 90 assists in 54 games. As a sophomore at Cheshire, he scored 53 goals and 50 assists, earning All-state honors. Hockey, however, was the sport in which he most excelled. As a sophomore, Leetch's 90 mph fastball helped the Cheshire Rams baseball team to a state championship and, as a senior at Avon Old Farms, he set the school record for strikeouts in a game with 19. In high school, he starred in baseball and hockey, first at Cheshire High School, and then at Avon Old Farms. He first learned to play hockey at a local ice rink managed by his father, Jack. Leetch was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, but was raised in Cheshire, Connecticut, where his family moved when he was three months old. During the ceremony, longtime teammate Mark Messier referred to Leetch as the single 'Greatest Ranger of All Time.' Leetch's number 2 was retired by the Rangers on January 24, 2008. He won the Calder Trophy as the NHL Rookie of the Year in 1989 and his 23 goals that season remain an NHL record for rookie defensemen. Leetch is one of only six NHL defensemen to score 100 points in a season with his 102-point campaign in 1991–92. He was a two-time Norris Trophy winner as the NHL's best defenseman (1992, 1997) and was the first American-born winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP for his performance during the Rangers' run to the 1994 Stanley Cup championship. Leetch accumulated many individual honors during his 18-year career. He will be inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2023. In 2017 Leetch was named one of the ' 100 Greatest NHL Players' in history. Leetch was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto in 2009, his first year of eligibility. He has been called one of the top defensemen in NHL history. Brian Joseph Leetch (born March 3, 1968) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played 18 National Hockey League (NHL) seasons with the New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Boston Bruins.

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