From overcoming OCD and depression to backstopping a playoff run in Edmonton, the resilient goaltender hangs up his skates after a career defined by honesty and perseverance.
His stay in Edmonton wasn't long. It was impactful.
Connor Ingram wasn't afraid to tell his story the minute he got in front of a camera. He'd struggled, and every day was a good day. Not long into his career, he entered the NHL's Player Assistance Program to treat depression and undiagnosed obsessive-compulsive disorder. During the 2024-25 season, he did so again to help him deal with his mother’s passing the year before.
When he first spoke to the Oilers-based media, he talked about his struggles. He was open and honest, ready to be the kind of player others could look at and not feel like they had to hide if they were going through the same sorts of things.
“I go for walks some days just to get some sunlight, but I mean, there’s nothing that I can do that’ll snap me out of it immediately. There’s no one fix for all of this,” he said.
Ingram came to the Oilers after a medicore run with the Utah Mammoth.
He was grateful after the Mammoth decided to move on and put in writing that he wasn't to attend their camp, and that the Oilers were there to give him another shot. “They never gave up on me. They kept letting me play,” he said of his run in Bakersfield. It wasn't a great run, either.
Eventually, however, circumstances in goal for the Oilers offered him another opportunity. He made the most of it, as he was better suited to play net in a league where he could more easily predict what players were going to do. Ingram never viewed himself as overly athletic. What he could do was read the play and anticipate things.
It wasn't long before he won the starting role for the Oilers and opened the 2025-26 playoffs as their netminder. He finished the season with a 2.60 goals-against average and an .899 save percentage over 32 games played.
“A quote I always go back to is, 'Sometimes rock bottom’s a great place to build a foundation.' That’s what it was. Nobody told me to quit, so I just kept playing, and here we are."
That was Ingram's attitude. He was grateful. He understood that this could all be taken away from him. It nearly was on a few occasions.
As such, it makes sense that when he announced his retirement on Friday, he said, “Don’t be sad it’s over; be happy it happened. Thanks, hockey; I owe ya.”
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