Image Credit: Dreamstime.com / Dave Hewison

By James Peters

Two and Out

PETERS: Connor Ingram shows even in hockey culture, it’s okay to ask for help

May 17, 2024 | 12:30 PM

HE MAY NOT BE a household name, but Connor Ingram is a hockey hero.

You probably remember Ingram as a star goaltender for the Kamloops Blazers a decade ago. This season, he was a star goaltender for the Arizona Coyotes.

In between those two highs, though, there were a lot of lows.

Drafted by Tampa Bay, he drifted through various levels of minor leagues, was put on waivers and even went to play in Sweden.

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All the while, Ingram was dealing with undiagnosed obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), a mental illness that will turn a thought pattern into a hamster wheel from which there is no escape.

While OCD had been present in his life since he was a young boy, the COVID-19 pandemic let it loose. He fixated on illnesses and diseases, unable to let his mind and his body rest on logical reassurance.

OCD tormented Ingram to the brink of quitting hockey, a sport he loved and in which he still had a bright future.

In 2021, months of pandemic isolation proved to be the final straw.

Instead of packing it in — and this is the key — Connor Ingram asked for help.

He entered the NHL’s Player Assistance Program, which led him to inpatient treatment, a proper diagnosis, therapy and tools to help him cope with his illness.

From there, Ingram’s career took off again.

This season, he was saddled with backstopping a sad sack Arizona team, many nights keeping them in games that should not have been close.

Earlier this week, the Professional Hockey Writers Association honoured Ingram with the Masterton Trophy, awarded to a player who demonstrates exceptional perseverance and commitment to the game of hockey.

It was well deserved recognition for a person who is doing much to turn around the so-called ‘hockey culture’ that celebrates teamwork but, paradoxically, has looked down upon those who admit they need help.

By showing that asking for help doesn’t make you weak or a failure, Connor Ingram truly is a hockey hero.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.