Rise, Fall, and Resilience

Jefferies’s biography honors a hockey great whose career endured a twist of fate.

The branches on Blake Geoffrion ’10’s family tree are made of hockey sticks. His great-grandfather Howie Morenz, one of the original nine inductees into the Hockey Hall of Fame, was named the best hockey player of the first half of the 20th century. His grandfather, Hall of Famer Bernie “Boom-Boom” Geoffrion, is credited with inventing the slap shot. And as a hockey player at the UW, Blake Geoffrion was the first Badger to receive the Hobey Baker Award, which recognizes the top collegiate player in the country. Like his grandfathers before him, Geoffrion was seemingly destined for a successful professional career. But life had other plans.

In Legacy on Ice: Blake Geoffrion and the Fastest Game on Earth, Sam Jefferies ’11 documents Geoffrion’s remarkable talent, his trajectory toward continuing his family’s NHL dynasty, and the career-ending injury that changed his life. The book reveals the finer details of North American hockey and its public reception over the years. Above all, it documents one man’s meteoric rise, tragic fall, and admirable resilience.

“Jefferies captures Blake’s essence both on and off the ice, providing glimpses of a sport’s transformative journey and of a family-rooted individual, wonderful teammate, determined athlete, and passionate competitor,” writes Hilary Knight ’12, former Wisconsin women’s hockey forward and Olympic gold medalist. “Although Blake has many more chapters to live, this book encapsulates his story, highlighting his passion, his sacrifice, and how he found strength in overcoming adversity.”

Jefferies is a freelance writer and communications professional in Seattle. His writing has appeared in Sports Business Journal, Sporting Classics Magazine, the Seattle Times, and Newsweek.

Published in the Winter 2023 issue