Connor Ingram has not played a hockey game since March 8, and for a guy who stops pucks for a living, that’s a long time.
It’ll probably be months before he does again.
But while that isn’t optimal for development for the 23-year-old Milwaukee Admirals goaltender, the shutdown and restart of hockey has put Ingram in an interesting position. If he does play, it’ll be on the biggest stage of his career, and if he doesn’t Ingram still can benefit from the most valuable summer school class he has ever taken.
“Going up there to Nashville for this period is great for him because he’s mentoring under two of the top goalies in the National Hockey League, not only skill-wise but also work ethic-wise,” said Dave Rook, the Admirals goalie coach, referring to all-star Pekka Rinne and Predators goalie-in-waiting Juuse Saros.
“It’s not the most ideal situation living in a hotel for three, four months potentially. But being in the atmosphere with pro athletes, being what they do to prep, seeing what they do to take care of their bodies – all that stuff – is going to be beneficial for him. And when he does come down – because he knows he is coming down – hopefully he can apply that and take off.”
Ingram, a 2019 acquisition, split time in goal evenly with veteran Troy Grosenick in 2019-20 as the Admirals won the Calder Cup in a season cut short by the coronavirus pandemic.
He finished third in the league in goals-against average (1.92) and save percentage (.993), went 21-5-5 and recorded two shutouts, including his final start, a 3-0 victory at San Antonio.
Although the American Hockey League did not resume play, the National Hockey League has begun a summer training camp before jumping directly into the playoffs next week. Teams traditionally carry three goaltenders in the postseason but this year aren’t limited, so Ingram and Grosenick both got the call.
“Obviously there’s two guys here who played all year long and have been really good at their jobs,” Ingram said. “It’s not like I’m coming in, trying to steal somebody’s job. But if the time does come, I’ll be ready for sure.
“We’ve been here, going through camp. You’re trying to stay as ready as you can. But until that happens, we’re just here being the support squad.”
Ingram was an AHL all-star in 2019 with the Syracuse Crunch, Tampa Bay Lightning affiliate, but the Predators acquired him last off-season for a seventh-round pick. Ingram continued his development in Milwaukee and earned a three-year contract that would be worth $2.2 million at the NHL level.
“We always knew he had skill and the potential was there,” Rook said. “Obviously with kids coming out of junior and the first couple of years pro they go through the learning process and growing pains and whatnot. It was a big eye-opener for Connor, the first couple of years, what happened to him. So we potentially reaped the rewards of that.”
Rinne’s performance has slipped and at 37 he has taken a backseat to Saros in Nashville. Based on the structure of Ingram’s contract – only the first two seasons provide for a lower salary if he plays in the AHL – the Predators expect his development and rise to continue.
“With the modern-day athlete there’s always more there,” Rooks said. “He’s shown he can be a good American League goalie. Now he has to prove he can be a good No. 1 American League goalie and then he has to prove he can be a good National Hockey League goalie. That’s got to be the project this coming year.”
Assuming the rest of the year comes off as planned for the NHL, next season probably won’t start before early 2021.
The rhythm of the spring was far from normal. Ingram didn’t even skate for two months, the longest time since he was 6 or 7 years old. His usual plan to rent out his home in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, to college students is on hold because he’ll probably need it in the fall. And then there was the issue of staying in shape after hustling home to Canada as the pandemic heated up.
“Unless you had a full home gym, you kind of had to ‘McGyver’ your way around and find things to do just to stay in shape,” said Ingram, who managed to round up dumbbells to lift and did some running.
“Luckily enough I had my trainers at home. We weren’t allowed to be in the gym, but they were setting me up with stuff to do at home. Just kind of doing whatever you can. Ultimately until you get back into games, nothing’s really similar.”
Now Ingram is back in training camp – but not a traditional one – when he’d ordinarily be taking a break.
Nashville was 35-26-8 when the regular season was cut short and are seeded sixth of the 12 teams from the Western Conference to advance. The Predators are scheduled to begin their best-of-five qualifying series against the Arizona Coyotes on Aug. 2 in Edmonton.
“You’re just trying to soak it in as much as you can,” Ingram said of his experience in Nashville so far. “It’s always good being a young guy and being around the big club, seeing how things work and trying to familiarize yourself with it.”
A year from now, or even sooner, he could be fighting for the chance to stay there.
“Every time he’s on the ice, he’s showcasing himself to Nashville management,” Rook said. “He did a good job. He was rewarded with a three-year contract, but his job’s not done. … You only have one opportunity to make a good impression, and right now he’s trying to make that impression to (coach) John Hynes and (general manager) David Poile.”