Blake Geoffrion has several claims to fame — Hobey Baker Award winner, IIHF Under-18 gold medal winner, collegiate team captain, NHL player — but there is one accomplishment he wants to be sure he gets credit for. Blake Geoffrion helped current Nashville Predators defenseman Ryan McDonagh become a better player.

McDonagh and Geoffrion were teammates at the University of Wisconsin, and it was Geoffrion who gave a young McDonagh some valuable hockey advice.

“[McDonagh] came into Wisconsin as a true freshman with this little like rinky dink blade and I told him, ‘Hey man, you need to switch your stick’, and ever since then he’s been that much better of a player,” Geoffrion said.

“Ryan McDonagh was always a great kid, great player. In terms of hockey, has the greatest stick I’ve ever seen meaning he breaks things up, poke checks well, defends really well with his stick,” McDonagh’s former teammate said.

“I take full credit,” Geoffrion said laughing.

Geoffrion’s years at the University of Wisconsin are just one chapter in a hockey story told in the new book by Sam Jeffries “Legacy On Ice: Blake Geoffrion and the Fastest Game on Earth”. Geoffrion was a fourth generation professional hockey player, a legacy that includes his grandfather Bernie “Boom Boom” Geoffrion whose Montreal Canadiens number hangs from the rafters at the Bell Centre. Years ago, a young Geoffrion was a Middle Tennessee grown hockey talent back when Nashville’s hockey landscape was far more sparse.

After participating in the USA Hockey Development Program under former Predators head coach John Hynes and his seasons with the Badgers, Geoffrion was drafted in the second round of the 2006 NHL Draft by the Nashville Predators. He played 42 games as a Predator before being traded to the Canadiens. Geoffrion played just 13 games in Montreal before a freak hockey accident in an AHL exhibition game nearly cost him his life.

Geoffrion and Jeffries attended last night’s raucous, playoff clinching game at Brigestone Arena and met with fans to chat about hockey, the book, and Geoffrion’s amazing story. While here, Geoffrion also signed his puck on the Gary Force Acura Alumni Wall.

Despite a lifelong passion for the sport and plenty of on ice success, Geoffrion’s injury on November 9, 2012 brought an end to his NHL career. His physical recovery and transition to life off the ice is yet another inspiring chapter in the book about his journey.

Geoffrion shared his advice for athletes who are faced with a new future whether due to a planned retirement or an unexpected injury that closes the NHL door.

“Chase what you’re passionate about just the same way you loved hockey,” Geoffrion said. “Maybe it’s inside hockey, maybe it’s outside hockey.”

“Go do what you truly love every single day.”

‘Legacy On Ice: Blake Geoffrion and the Fastest Game on Earth” shares the blessings and challenges of Geoffrion’s career beautifully paralleled by the evolution of a growing National Hockey League. It isn’t a story of stats or a “how to book” about the linear rise to the top for a professional athlete but an honest look at the road to the NHL and an appreciation of the tough choices and hard work it takes to find success even with a famous hockey name stitched across the back of your sweater.

“One of the sayings I’ve lived by my whole life is ‘adversity only makes you stronger’, and I think with my story you’ll read a lot of ups and down, a lot of peaks and valleys,” Geoffrion said.

“Time and time again I just doubled down and just kept at it and didn’t really care – just kept running through the brick walls in front of me the best I could.”

“That’s life,” Geoffrion said. “People have ups and downs, so I think it’s good that we continue to see that with everyone and anyone.”

“Legacy on Ice: Blake Geoffrion and the Fastest Game on Earth” can be purchased through bookshop.org and other popular book retailers.