Connor Ingram relishing opportunity to be back in NHL with Edmonton Oilers

It was a hairy ending for Connor Ingram in a close shave 4-3 win over the Vegas Golden Knights, but under Ingram’s goalie mask, and through his big beard there was a large exhale because he was back in the NHL.

His new teammates and his family friend and head coach Kris Knoblauch cheering, the full-house at Rogers Place on their feet, holding their breath, and the entire town of Imperial, Sask. hugging one another as one of their own got the job done.

Ingram, who hadn’t played an NHL game since Feb. 22, 2025, after entering the league’s Player Assistance program for a second time to get help for the grief after his mother, Joni died of breast cancer, when he was playing with Utah, did the dot on the map proud.

It was a wild 48 hours for the Bakersfield Condors goalie, and the fourth goaltender the Oilers have used this month and won with — Stuart Skinner (traded), Tristan Jarry (injured), Calvin Pickard and now Ingram.

“Yeah, it’s been hectic but at the end of the day, no matter whatever level you’re in, my job is to stop the puck. I don’t have to learn to forecheck. My job never changes,” said Ingram.

Nobody knows how long Ingram will be here, partnering with Pickard, with nobody saying exactly what’s wrong with Jarry — is it a groin, a knee? — only a vague “he’s out for a couple of weeks, he’ll be back sometime in the New Year.”

But Ingram will be soaking it all in, for as long as it lasts, the fun of it all, again.

‘Want to be in the NHL’

“It’s just being around it. This is what you dream of your whole life. You don’t dream of being in the American League, you want to be in the NHL,” he said.

Nobody was celebrating Ingram’s game more than Knoblauch, who also hails from Ingram’s hometown of Imperial.

The prairie town halfway between Regina and Saskatoon, with streets named Duchess and Duke, Prince and Queen and Royal, where Knoblauch and Ingram are, well, kings.

“Absolutely everybody in Imperial knows one another,” said Knoblauch.

“It’s a small town, about 390 people, and the surrounding area, all the farmers.”

There’s a K to 12 school in Imperial where Connor’s dad is a teacher, also an arena, like with every Saskatchewan town. And a small two-story hotel, looking like it belongs in a Western movie, with a bar, of course.

“It’s been awhile since I’ve been in that watering hole,” said Knoblauch.

“But I believe it’s just called the Imperial Hotel. Hopefully, they all had the game on and they were cheering Connor on.”

Ingram knows the town rocks on a hockey night. Heck, if there’s a grain elevator in Imperial, it might have been shaking, too, Sunday.

“I’ll have to text dad to see what he was up to. I bet he watched that game by himself, honestly,” said Connor.

There’s not much in Imperial, but it’s home.

“There’s the Imperial, yeah, with the only bar in town, a Chinese restaurant. We lost the two grocery stores, no banks, the garage is for sale. We’ve got a school, though, that keeps us going,” said Ingram.

Ingram’s dad teaches math and gym.

“I have trouble reading, my reading comprehension is below average but math is my thing. I’m good with numbers,” said Ingram.

Knoblauch said he knows the Ingram family well. Ingram’s father taught him in school.

“Connor was probably the only one I didn’t know because he was the youngest in the family. Mr. Ingram was our home room teacher in Grade 7. He was my football coach, track and field, volleyball, you name it,” said Knoblauch.

Ingram got a cheer from the crowd on his first pad save early in the game Sunday, a bullet off the wing, but he didn’t hear it.

“Nah, I tend to black out there. I remember doing it (save), but after that, no,” he said.

It was great to be back though, with his wife Sara in the crowd and a friend who made the nearly seven-hour drive from Imperial to watch him.

Has dealt with OCD

As everybody knows, it’s been a tough road for Ingram, whose struggled with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder since he was a child. He also had trouble with germs, and stayed away from high-fives from strangers, and many other dark thoughts that wouldn’t leave his head.

Ingram first went into the NHL’s Player Assistance program in June, 2021, the anxiety of OCD crippling him. He got through that, with counselling, but went back after his mother passed away.

He’s been to hell and back, and he’s thankful for every hockey playing day.

While he’s had some tough outings in the AHL, it’s a different style of game in the minors, and now that’s he’s been given this opportunity, he’s focused on putting the work in to play his best for the Oilers.

“In the NHL what you think should happen (on a play) does happen,” said Ingram.

“I rely heavily on reading the game. I’ve never been a guy who is fast enough to react. I’ve had to be one step ahead. In this league, where you think the puck’s going to go, it does. It’s easier to read, but, yeah, it’s a helluva lot faster (NHL) than I’ve been used to. There’s still a lot of work to be done.

“I had a lot of help out there, from top to bottom from our team… (Darnell) Nurse broke a play up at the end of game. They have an empty net if he doesn’t do that.”

But there are no empty feelings for Ingram, being back in an NHL net — or from Knoblauch.

“He hasn’t played an NHL game for almost a year and his stats in Bakersfield weren’t ideal but we knew he was a quality goaltender… one year in Arizona he played up to 50 games with a save performance over. 900,” said Knoblauch.

“For me, his game is really calming.”

And with the goalie carousel here, that’s what the Oilers certainly need.

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