We could all learn a thing or two from Connor Ingram.
The 28-year-old goalie made 26 saves Sunday in his first NHL start since February, helping the Edmonton Oilers beat Vegas 4-3. It had been ten months since his last NHL game. Ten months since he entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program (PAP) in March to cope with the death of his mother to breast cancer.
That was Ingram's second time entering the PAP.
"I've been through enough to know the sun's coming up tomorrow, no matter what happens in this life," Ingram said after the game. "I've got a wife and a family that loves me. That's all that really matters at the end of the day. You want to win hockey games, but there's a lot more to life than hockey."
There's more to life than hockey. I know, crazy thought.
But Ingram knows this simple fact better than most. He first entered the Player Assistance Program in January 2021 to deal with undiagnosed obsessive-compulsive disorder. He came back. He played. He won the Bill Masterton Trophy in 2023-24 for perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey after posting 23 wins and a .907 save percentage with Arizona.
Then his mother died. And he entered the program again in March, this time to cope with grief that hockey couldn't fix.
Oilers vs Flames: Pre-game Stats18-13-6 | 42 PTS
"There were a lot of days where I didn't think it (returning to the NHL again) would ever happen again," Ingram admitted. "I mean, it's just the truth of it. In this world, it's a competitive game with 64 spots to do this. So you don't take it for granted any day, it's a huge honour."
Sixty-four goaltending spots in the NHL. That's it. And Ingram spent ten months away from one of them, dealing with personal challenges that had nothing to do with save percentages or wins and losses.
Utah placed him on waivers in September. He went unclaimed. The Oilers acquired him on October 1 for future considerations, and Utah retained $800,000 of his $1.95 million salary. Edmonton sent him to Bakersfield, where he went 4-5-2 with a 4.04 GAA and .856 save percentage in 11 games.
Oilers Looked Decent Enough In Ingrams First Game BackAnd the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers">Edmonton Oilers</a> lineup reads as follows:
Those numbers aren't good. But Ingram was cleared from the Player Assistance Program on August 20th. He missed training camp. He was finding his game while dealing with everything that came before it. The statistics don't tell that story.
"If you surround yourself in life with good people, when you need them, they're there," Ingram said. "And I think when you go through struggles, you find out people that really are around, and those are the people you want to keep around."
Sunday against Vegas, those people got rewarded. Ingram made his first save 37 seconds into the game—a tricky blocker stop against Ivan Barbashev that drew a loud cheer from fans. He was too locked in to notice. Seven saves in the first period. Nine in the second. Ten in the third when Vegas scored twice to make it 4-3.
A Look Into Andrew Mangiapane's Slow But Steady Development With The OilersAndrew Mangiapane hasn't been scoring goals. That much is obvious. His last one came November 3 against Nashville, and when he finally ended the drought Saturday afternoon in Minnesota—tipping an Evan Bouchard shot past Filip Gustavsson at 13:35 of the first period—it had been 21 games and 47 days since he'd seen one cross the line.
He looked comfortable. He looked like someone who's played 103 career NHL games and knows what he's doing. He looked like a goalie who's been through enough to know that making saves matters, but it's not everything.
"It's what you dream of your whole life," Ingram said. "You don't dream of playing in the American League. You want to play in the NHL. So like I said before, you don't take any day for granted, and every day you're here's a good day."
Every day you're here's a good day. That's the perspective of someone who's had days where getting out of bed was the accomplishment. Days where hockey didn't matter because life was overwhelming. Days where the sun coming up tomorrow wasn't guaranteed to feel like a good thing.
Retired Goaltender Coming to Oilers?: Maybe We Should Pump the Brakes a LittleThe Oilers' chaotic goaltending situation means rumors are inevitable. Does that mean talk of a retired netminder coming to Edmonton is a real thing?Ingram is back now. Tristan Jarry is on injured reserve with a lower-body injury and will miss a couple weeks. Calvin Pickard is Edmonton's other goalie. Ingram will get more starts, more chances to prove the Oilers made the right call acquiring him in October.
But even if he doesn't, even if the numbers don't work out, even if this opportunity ends up being temporary, Connor Ingram has already won something more valuable than hockey games.
He's back doing what he loves, with the people he loves, after dealing with challenges that had nothing to do with the game itself. He's playing in the NHL again after ten months away. He's making saves and getting cheers and living the dream he's had his whole life.
Spencer Stastney Is Quietly Becoming A Very Interesting Piece For The OilersA hidden gem acquired from Nashville, Spencer Stastney's calm puck-moving and defensive reliability are proving invaluable to the Oilers' blue line depth."I've been through enough to know the sun's coming up tomorrow," Ingram said.
We could all learn from that. There's more to life than hockey. There's more to hockey than hockey. And sometimes, just being here is enough.
Connor Ingram is here. And every day he's here is a good day.
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