Geekie & Nash Building Chemistry in Winnipeg with League-Leading ICE

The Winnipeg ICE have taken the WHL by storm this season, though given two of the club's players and their ties to Arizona, it might as well be a monsoon.
Arizona Coyotes prospect Conor Geekie and Scottsdale, Ariz. native Ty Nash have combined for 46 points in the team's 25 games this season, helping the ICE jump out to a league-best 22-3-0 record. Geekie has frequently centered a line between Nash and 2023 NHL Draft top prospect Zach Benson, which makes up just part of Winnipeg's formidable offense that currently boasts a plus-47 goal differential.

That combination was only made possible after Nash was traded from the Lethbridge Hurricanes -- where he was an alternate captain -- to Winnipeg in September, and though the move initially shocked the 19-year-old winger, he quickly realized just how special the group was that he was joining.
Nash, the son of former NHL player and Coyotes television analyst Tyson Nash, immediately clicked with his new teammates - especially Geekie.
"He was great for me right when I got traded, he introduced himself and we started on the line as soon as I arrived so it was it was nice to be able to build that chemistry right at the start," Nash said. "Being able to play with these great players like Benson and Geekie, and some of those guys, it's been great for me and I'm really enjoying it."

Geekie, who has already made a
wildly favorable impression with Arizona's brass
at the NHL level, said the chemistry between the two was immediately evident.
That's saying a lot considering the 18-year-old has done quite a bit on his own to set himself apart following a 24 goal, 46 assist season in 63 games with the ICE last year.
"We picked him up on the bus, and he played his first game, and we kind of clicked right away," Geekie said. "We both had some good laughs, good chuckles, even though we didn't know each other too well.
"On the ice, it's just one of those things -- you always have that connection with three-or-four guys on your team, and he's one of them. We just seem to find each other on the ice."
The towering 6-foot-4 Geekie is known for not just his size and level of physicality, but also his skill, leadership ability, and hockey sense. He developed a strong relationship with Coyotes rookie Dylan Guenther in Arizona over the summer, especially since the two were roommates.
Unsurprisingly, Guenther and Geekie became instant friends, and continue to frequently text each other. Guenther's Edmonton Oil Kings won the WHL championship last season (they eliminated Winnipeg in five games in the third round of the playoffs, in fact), and the 19-year-old Coyotes rookie said he's enjoyed following the start to Geekie's season this year, which included his first-ever hat trick.
Though Geekie's aspirations of playing in the NHL sooner, rather than later, could become a distraction for most, Guenther said he believes he can dial it in to help the ICE to a championship-caliber season.

"He's a good guy to be around, and I think, both for him and his team in Winnipeg, they're in a similar spot that we were last year," Guenther said. "I'm excited for him, I know he's excited for it, but you still have to perform. Last year when I was in Edmonton, I wasn't thinking about this team, right?
"As long as they do that, they have a super skilled team and he's a big part of that."
So is Nash, who has adjusted well in a hurry following the early-season trade. His father, Tyson, played 374 NHL games, including 119 with the then-Phoenix Coyotes, but also spent parts of five seasons from 1990-91 through 1994-95 with the WHL's Kamloops Blazers, where he won both WHL and Memorial Cup championships in 1991-92, 1993-94, and 1994-95.
In addition to the plethora of first-round talent that currently surrounds him, Ty has a wealth of knowledge available any time he needs it - not to mention his biggest fan.
"What Ty has learned so far in such a short time is just so important to his development," Tyson said. "How to be a player at this level, how to be a player at the next level, and then just playing with top ten players, playing on that line, and being pushed by those guys."

Though he admittedly sometimes has a tough time taking off his player/coach/analyst hat, Tyson is unwavering when it comes to making sure Ty has the support structure he needs.
That will never change.
"I don't always give him my input or my advice, but I'm always there to encourage, be a dad on the phone and on text messages, because he knows, and that's the biggest thing," Tyson said. "He's not 16 anymore. He's 19, and that's been part of his development. He knows when he's had a good game, he knows when he's had a bad game.
"He doesn't need me to tell him."
Tyson also said it's easy to understand why Ty and Geekie have developed such a strong relationship in a relatively short amount of time, because his son speaks very highly of the Coyotes prospect, in both how hard he works on the ice, in addition to how he carries himself off it.
Ty's career in juniors in some ways echoes Tyson's, considering he played with Scott Niedermeyer, Darryl Sydor, and Zac Boyer, among others.
As the younger Nash now pairs up with Geekie, Benson, Matthew Savoie, etc, he said the lessons his dad have taught him are paying dividends.
"He's been a huge, huge help for me because he's been through it all," Ty said of his father. "We were talking about it, I think it was a couple of months ago, but he missed his first draft. He's been a huge help showing me parts of my game, sending me clips of my game and what I need to work on, and it helps so much because he's seen it all."
Though their paths are very different, both Ty and Geekie have the same end-goal in mind - to become regular contributors in the NHL.

What's interesting is how they're helping each other to that very goal.
"He's a good player, he plays with a lot of pace because there's a lot of speed he can shoot the puck," Geekie said. "It's good for me, because I I'm more of a passer than a shooter, so anytime he can get open, he's definitely the guy I'm looking for."
For saying he's more of a passer, though, Geekie's playing an extremely even-keeled game this season, with 13 goals and 12 assists in 23 games.
He said he continues to work on improving his skating and edge work, but is having a blast alongside his teammates as the ICE continue their stellar season. Though he had obviously hoped to make the Coyotes out of training camp, the realist in him knew what was in store.
Geekie stays in touch regularly with the Coyotes and their training staff, and said what he learned in the short time throughout various offseason camps has benefitted him in the WHL this season.

He not only feels like he can pass that same message along to his current teammates, but can also use it to help himself at all of next season's camps, too.
"I just don't think I was strong enough yet, I think that was a big part of it," Geekie said. "I got knocked off the puck a little more than I'm used to. That's part of the game, it's getting older.
"I'm going to come back stronger and faster than I was last year, and I hope to make an even better impression."
He's embraced the ride, and so far, and made even more valuable friendships along the way.
And yes, he still misses the Arizona heat, especially as the winter takes hold in Winnipeg. But with a teammate and friend who hails from Scottsdale, he's still very well-connected to the southwest.

That connection will serve Winnipeg well as the season wears on.
"We kind of get each other, we think the same way," Geekie said. "He's a good player."
Ty echoed that sentiment, and is looking forward to what the rest of the WHL season will bring.
"Being able to play with the power forward like that, it's great," he said. "He's a great player, and I love playing with him."