Connor Ingram won the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy on Wednesday. The award is presented annually to the NHL player who best exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey, as voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association (PWHA).
Ingram, a goalie for the Arizona Coyotes this season, nearly retired due to obsessive-compulsive disorder and lingering depression before seeking help from the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance program on Jan. 15, 2021.
“You’ve got to put the work in to feel good,” Ingram told NHL.com during the season. “You know what sets you off or what makes you calm, whatever it may be. It’s like addiction. You know if you go anywhere near that, it’s going to cause you problems, so I stay away from anything that might cause me to have a flare-up or be anxious or anything like that. It’s just putting in work, going to therapy, taking care of yourself.
“It’s like a nagging injury. If you don’t take care of it, it’s going to get worse. For the rest of my life, I’ll sit in a stranger’s chair and tell them my problems once a week. It’s just a fact of my life.”
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Ingram played his first seven professional seasons in the ECHL, American Hockey League (AHL), and Sweden before making his NHL debut with the Nashville Predators in 2021-22. The 27-year-old, who was claimed off waivers by the Coyotes on Oct. 10, 2022, was 23-21-3 with a 2.91 goals-against average, .907 save percentage and tied for the NHL lead with six shutouts in 50 games (48 starts) this season. Ingram is under contract for two more seasons.