He was quick to credit a number of individuals in his life, beginning with Vickie Woosley, the team psychologist for the Nashville Predators. Ingram also said the love and support from his parents, fiancée Sarah Mitchell, current goaltending coach Corey Schwab, and former goaltending coach Ben Vanderklok have been instrumental in his journey.
He and Mitchell will wed on August 3 in Nashville, which is where they met following his time in the Player Assistance Program.
“Sarah, she probably deserves the most credit,” Ingram said. “She’s always there behind the curtain ready to talk.”
His NHL journey began when he was drafted 88th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2016, and he climbed through the junior and professional ranks with the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, ECHL’s Adirondack Thunder and Orlando Solar Bears, and AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, Chicago Wolves, and Milwaukee Admirals.
Ingram made his NHL debut with the Nashville Predators on Oct. 24, 2021 – 10 months after entering the Player Assistance Program – and earned a win after saving 33 of 35 shots. He said the significance of that moment didn’t necessarily click at the time, but it was the start of his journey in the league following the monumental obstacles he had overcome.
“We weren’t thinking about this when it was going on; it was just a hockey game that you needed to go out and win,” Ingram said. “I look back at it now all the time, it hangs in my basement. I have the puck, I have the scorecard, I have the [victory] picture. It’s all there, and it’s a moment that if I walk away tomorrow, you can’t take away from me.”
He played two more games that season, and by then General Manager Bill Armstrong, along with his professional scouting staff, had learned all they needed to know about the talented netminder.
The two-time AHL All-Star was claimed off waivers on Oct. 10, 2022, and he has been an integral part of the team’s chemistry ever since.
“All of our goalie people in the organization wanted him bad, and that’s because of the way he is and how he thinks about the game. He’s a very natural goaltender,” Armstrong said. “He calms everybody by the way he plays.”