Connor Ingram wins Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy

Connor Ingram is a bit of an anomaly; an Arizona Coyotes player who has won a major NHL award.

The NHL announced on Wednesday that the former Arizona goaltender is the recipient of the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, awarded annually to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey. The award is named after Bill Masterton, the only player in NHL history to die as a direct result of injuries suffered during a game.

Ingram’s nomination for the award came via the Arizona chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. Recent Coyotes nominees for the Masterton Trophy include Clayton Keller and Andrew Ladd. Keller was a finalist last season.

Ingram’s backstory is well known. He nearly retired due to an undiagnosed obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and lingering depression before he sought help through the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program in 2021, which he credits with turning his life and career around.

Now he is trying to help others by talking about his experience.

“You don’t do these things for awards or recognition,” Ingram said on a Zoom call from Saskatoon, Canada on Wednesday. “When I got on a plane to go to a grippy sock vacation, you don’t think about winning a Masterton. You’re just trying to put your life back together.

“If I become a voice for it, or do things like this where we’re going to talk about it, I thought, ‘Why not make it a good thing?’ And I think that’s what it’s turned into. I’ve had people reach out and say that it’s helped, or kids that get into therapy or things like that. And I think that’s all you can do is, if it’s going to be a story, make it a good one.”

Ingram is one of just two Coyotes players to win a major award. Overall, he is one of just five Coyotes (managers, coaches, players) to win one of the league’s major awards, and the first to do so in 14 years.

With participation numbers up in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program, Ingram said it is important for players to tout the benefits of getting outside help.

“There’s more people that have been through it than you would possibly think,” he said. “If there have been 2,000 players reach out for help, I wouldn’t be amazed. There’s a lot of guys that use it for like paying for therapy or things like that that you want to do at home. There’s a lot more that the program does than take guys away from the league and make them get better. There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes. They’ve been doing it for this long and guys still use it for a reason.

“If a guy knows a guy who’s in there, you might get a heads up on what they’re going in for. You see guys that go that you may have played with before that you reach out to and just make sure everything’s okay. Everybody kind of goes through their own things. You’ve seen it from PTSD to severe substance use. There’s a lot of things that you can find yourself using the program for.”

Ingram’s career took a decided upturn when the Coyotes claimed him off waivers from the Nashville Predators before the 2022-23 season. He finished 13th in goals saved above expected last season at 17.68, and 16th in save percentage at .907.

He is under contract for two more seasons with the new Utah franchise.

Ingram said he will spend much of the summer in Saskatoon where he will attend a number of weddings including his own to his longtime girlfriend, Sarah Mitchell. The wedding is scheduled for Aug. 3 in Nashville, which is where they met.

Top photo of Connor Ingram via Getty Images

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