The Arizona Coyotes are no strangers to the waiver wire. Before the highly anticipated 2022-23 season, the team added two players in positions of need on back-to-back days. The first was from the Calgary Flames, claiming Jusso Valimaki. Since his arrival in Arizona, Valimaki looks like the first-round pick the Flames drafted in 2017. However, just one day after, general manager (GM) Bill Armstrong added another intriguing piece to the puzzle, Connor Ingram.
Ingram was placed on waivers by the Nashville Predators, who were stacked at goaltender with All-Star Juuse Saros and up-and-comer Yaroslav Askarov. Ingram didn’t fit into the system in Nashville and their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals. Claiming the 25-year-old meant he had to stay on the roster, and that was the big question: was he ready for the task at hand? Ingram answered all those questions, leaving him being placed on waivers a surprise, but a welcomed one for Armstrong and company.
Ingram Has Extensive History Before Arrival in Desert
Ingram is no foreigner when it comes to having success at the AHL level. Before making the move to the scorching desert, he was playing with the Predators, whom he was traded to by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2019, all for a seventh-round pick. The 26-year-old has been known to be a consistent netminder who helps his team stay deep in games, and he showed that in the Western Hockey League (WHL) and the AHL but struggled in the NHL.
Once traded to Nashville, the former third-round draft pick looked like he had found his groove with the Milwaukee Admirals, the Predators AHL affiliate. In 2019-20, he shined with a 21-5-5 record along with a save percentage (SV%) of .933 and a goals-against average (GAA) of 1.92. After an impressive showing the following season, he earned a call-up to the big stage, where he had the opportunity to cement himself in the Predators’ core. Unfortunately, he struggled mightily, recording a 3.71 GAA and a SV% of .879 in three games, and was sent back down, seemingly not quite ready for the monster that is the NHL.
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After his brief stint in the NHL, he never saw another call-up and proceeded to play 54 more games with the Admirals. With the newcomer and first-round pick Askarov making his way through the ranks, Ingram’s days in Music City appeared to be numbered. In one last attempt to keep Ingram, the team placed him on waivers in hopes he’d clear and be sent back down to the AHL. However, Armstrong and the pro scouts had other ideas, an idea that could revolutionize the Coyotes’ goaltending situation.
First Season As a Coyote Showed Potential
The Coyotes have had their fair share of memorable netminders throughout their history as Mike Smith, Antti Raanta, Darcy Kuemper, and 2023 Stanley Cup champion Adin Hill have played in Arizona. So there’s no denying the talent that has been in net, but sustainability and consistency have always been lacking. Now, with the Saskatoon, Saskatchewan native, he has a chance to become one of the elite goaltenders in Arizona, and in his short time, he’s shown he can do just that.
During the 2022-23 season, the Coyotes’ season was labeled as the chance for Connor Bedard or, in simple terms, tanking for a high draft pick. Furthermore, this draft class was tagged as one of the deepest in recent memory, with high-end talent across the board. The team was also heading into its first season at Mullett Arena, an arena that only has a capacity of 4,600 people and wasn’t your typical NHL arena. However, with a mixture of magic at Mullett Arena and the play of Ingram, the Coyotes made the most of a rebuilding season.
After being claimed off waivers, Ingram started his journey in the desert with much uncertainty but had high hopes. Those high hopes in Arizona suddenly dimmed as he started his career with the Coyotes with a 1-6-1 record and a .866 SV%. It was not what he or the team expected to kick things off, but head coach André Tourigny had his back from the get-go.
Settling is exactly what he did, finishing the season with a 6-13-8 record with an impressive .907 SV% and 3.7 goals saved above expected. It seemed like he had found himself a home, and management felt the same, rewarding him with a three-year, $1.95 million contract. “Stability is huge,” Ingram said. “Moving around is really hard on me with new places, new things, new environments. Sarah and Loki (the couple’s dog) are amazing and they do their best to make me feel comfortable, but just to get an apartment here and say, ‘Okay, the next three years we can stay here’ is a great feeling for sure.”
Ingram Looks to Seize Opportunity In Second Season & Beyond
So far into Ingram’s tenure with the Coyotes, he’s shown the qualities of an NHL starting goaltender. Even in the early goings of the 2023-24 season, he’s posted a 2.02 GAA and a .926 SV% with a 1-1-0 record. He made a ridiculous save on a wrap-around attempt in just the fourth game against the St. Louis Blues, but he needs to show he can do this consistently. Coyotes goaltending coach Corey Schwab also thinks consistency will be the biggest challenge for the young netminder.
“To me, the next step is just to be able to do it again,” Schwab said. “Breaking down last season, the first few games weren’t what he would want, but then I look at his last 27 games, he gave us a chance on most nights and it didn’t matter who we were playing. The goal is to come in this year and be consistent with that same effort and give us a chance every night that he’s in the game. To me, it’s not about trying to project how many games he has to play or certain numbers that he has to put up. We saw what he can do. It’s about doing what he did over that last stretch and let’s see where it takes you next.”
The coaches and management saw what Ingram is capable of, so fans should get used to seeing him in net if he continues to play his game. With Karel Vejmelka also as a netminder, the Coyotes have the flexibility to use the hotter goalie, which is something most teams don’t have. Both goalies have already recorded their first wins of the season and look to continue throughout.
Ingram is due for a breakout season, especially considering the team around him is much improved from last season.
Bright Future Awaits Ingram
The Coyotes have a gem with Ingram. Not only has he shown he is capable of being a backup goalie, but it looks like, eventually, he could take the starting job. The development of goaltenders oftentimes takes much longer than forwards and even defensemen, so seeing him blossom at age 26 is not surprising. Ingram has kicked off his 2023-24 with a boom and looks like the goalie who was on a tear during February of last season. With the next stage of the rebuild in effect, Ingram looks to solidify himself with the team for the foreseeable future.