If hockey is truly the fastest game on earth, that moniker can be applied as much to the careers of the players we follow as it is to the gameplay itself. The average length of an NHL career is less than five years, and while some players will endear themselves to a fan base over a decade or more, many simply don’t get that much time at the highest level of the game they love. Those with shorter careers can often fade into obscurity, and we won’t necessarily get to hear their stories.
But their stories can often go much deeper than the length of their NHL runs. I recently read such a story in Sam Jeffries’s biography of Blake Geoffrion, the former Montreal Canadiens forward who saw his career tragically cut short.
In the book, Jeffries takes you on a journey through Geoffrion’s life in hockey. Though he began playing and learning the game in the polar opposite of a hockey hotbed in Williamson County, Tennessee, he came from Montreal hockey royalty. The grandson of Bernie “Boom Boom” Geoffrion, and the great grandson of Howie Morenz, Geoffrion boasted lineage that would seem to destine him for a career in hockey. But even with such lineage, nothing would be handed to him.
You’ll learn how hard he worked for his place in the hockey landscape, and eventually caught the attention of the rising USA hockey development program. How his performance there shaped the player he would become, and earned him a scholarship to the University of Wisconsin, where he’d eventually become their first Hobey Baker winner, earning the affectionate nickname “Hobey Blaker.” And of course, his eventual transition to professional hockey, realizing a dream that so few hockey players ever can.
He’d wear the number 57 with the Canadiens, an homage to the numbers five and seven, worn by his grandfather and great-grandfather respectively, which already hung in the rafters of the Bell Centre. You couldn’t have a tougher act to follow as the descendant of two Canadiens legends, yet Geoffrion embraced the history of the team and his family members who came before him, reveling in the opportunity to carry on his family’s legacy.
With impossibly large shoes to fill, he’d unfortunately not get much of a chance to do so. He played just 13 games with the Canadiens during the 2011-12 season, and the NHL lockout would snatch his chance to earn a more permanent roster spot the following year.
We know how Geoffrion’s story ends – a harrowing injury sustained while playing for the Hamilton Bulldogs during the lockout, ultimately cutting his career short. While the injury itself was a big news story at the time, Jeffries credits Geoffrion’s openness in enabling him to provide insight into the aftermath of that injury, how it impacted Geoffrion’s quality of life, his struggle with the decision to walk away from the game, and how he came to terms with it all. This glimpse into the abrupt end of a player’s career is something you don’t usually get to hear about, and it really puts into perspective how fast things can change.
I’m not as avid a reader as I once was, particularly since my four-year-old son isn’t big on giving me more than 30 minutes of uninterrupted time to do anything, let alone read. I found myself making excuses to find extra time to read this one, however, as it was quite difficult to put down. Geoffrion’s story is one of triumph and tragedy, and to have it put together so eloquently with details you won’t find anywhere online made it a treat to read.
Jeffries is also able to tie Geoffrion’s story in with the rise of USA hockey’s development program, which has become one of the premier conduits to the NHL today. So you not only get great detail about the life and career of Geoffrion, but a glimpse at how the landscape of North American hockey has changed through the program that he was a part of.
If you are a fan of hockey in general, and untold stories of players in the sport, I would highly recommend picking up a copy of this book and adding it to your reading list.
If you are interested in purchasing a copy, you can do so through bookshop. Additionally, Jeffries will be at Indigo Place Montréal Trust on Thursday May 9, from 5-7 PM for a book signing.
