SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's NHL team has yet to take the ice in Salt Lake City and players are already winning prestigious league awards.
Goaltender Connor Ingram was named the winner of the 2024 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy on Wednesday, an honor given to the player who “best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to the game.”
Ingram joined the former Arizona Coyotes after being waived by Nashville in Oct. 2022, rising to claim top goaltender status last season. With the Coyotes in 2023-24, Ingram went 23-21-3 with a .907 save percentage.
However, it's what Ingram has done off the ice that best represents why he won the Masterson trophy.
Before starring in the NHL, Ingram nearly quit the game in 2021 because of an undiagnosed obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression, which led to him seeking help through the league's player assistance program.
Ingram eventually returned to the game and serves as an inspiration to the millions of others who deal with OCD and depression.
"You can't make people get help, and people need to want to get help on their own and it takes a breaking point for some people and maybe some people get ahead of it," Ingram said Wednesday. "So if I can be that voice that says, 'Hey, let's go talk to somebody and tell a stranger my problems,' why not?"
Ingram told FOX 13 News Sports Director Jeff Rhineer that he's heard from those he's helped just by being vocal about mental health issues.
"It's great to see, and if that's what we can do, if I gotta sit through some interviews and tell some awkward stories, if it helps people, why not?," he said.
As far as moving to Utah seemingly in the blink of an eye, Ingram says he's excited and hopes he can call Salt Lake City home for a few years. He was especially impressed with the support fans have already shown, like when the Delta Center was packed for a welcoming party a few weeks ago.
"That's a lot of people and I think that's all you can ask for is to have people excited," he said, "and then it's our job to keep them excited."
