To call Connor Ingram a promising prospect is a bit misleading.

After all, the 28-year-old goaltender already had 102 games worth of NHL experience under his belt prior to being traded to the Edmonton Oilers on Oct. 1, and assigned to the Bakersfield Condors farm team.

And while he might not be a true prospect in that regard, the promising part still applies, as he so aptly proved in his debut with the organization.

Ingram allowed one goal on 22 shots for a .955 save percentage in a 2-1 win over the San Jose on Oct. 18.

“He was calm, confident. I would say he made the more difficult saves look a little easier, so he didn’t make any more work for himself,” said Bakersfield Condors head coach Colin Chaulk. “He’s happy right now, he’s playing hockey. He played well this one game.

“He’s excited to practise and do the goalie training with (goaltending coach) Kelly Guard, and is excited to be in the gym with our strength coach, and all that stuff right now. And the California sunshine is treating him pretty well, as well. I think he’s in a pretty good head space right now, so we’re glad to have him.”

But before anyone goes pencilling him in for a callup to the Oilers, whose inconsistent goaltending had — before this season, at least — been the target of the finger of blame among the fan base of the parent club for longer than they’d like to admit, Ingram had a less than stellar follow up.

He made 24 saves in a 5-1 loss to the Tucson Roadrunners this past weekend.

And that small sample size is a microcosm of his career, which has also been up and down, so far including 11 stops in between the (former) East Coast Hockey League, the American Hockey League, Sweden and the NHL since 2017-18.

His last stop saw him play 47 games across two seasons with the (former) Arizona Coyotes/Utah Hockey Club, before not getting invited back to training camp this year.

In all, he is 39-44-15 with a 3.14 goals-against average, .902 save percentage and seven shutouts in 102 regular-season NHL games, and has played in three playoff games.

But if there is one thing Ingram doesn’t need, it’s a smooth road. He has been through his share of bumps along his young career, as many goalies do. The thing that separates Ingram is he doesn’t shy away from talking about his journey.

Between injuries and his battles with obsessive-compulsive disorder and anxiety that led to him to enter the NHL/NHL Players Association player assistance program in 2021, before winning the Masterton Trophy as the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey, in the 2023-24 season.

“I’m 48 years old, and when you were young and had a headache, your parents gave you Tylenol and Advil and you went back on the ice,” Chaulk said. “In our era, if you had those feelings you were looked upon as soft. That’s evolving and educating as a coach that, yes, they’re hockey players. But they’re human beings and people, first.

“I feel like it’s overused now, but it’s relationships and getting to know the person, and when hard things come to the forefront — which they’re going to at some point — we approach with empathy and understanding. And the biggest thing I’ve learned is looking at it from that person’s point of view, wherever that is, instead of just trying to see my point of view.”

It’s a different world, after all.

“The social media and all the new stressors that we didn’t have to go through, it’s such a different time,” Chaulk said. “That’s changing and evolving and forces growth and I know Connor’s gone through a lot of that, as have I as a player and a coach, as well.”

But the end goal still remains the same on the farm: Developing rising talent in order to take the next step in their evolution if and when their name gets called.

“Listen, the two goalies in Edmonton, I’ve been fortunate enough to coach both Stu (Skinner) and (Calvin) Pick(ard). They’re both great men, great fathers and great teammates and goaltenders, as well,” Chaulk said. “Pick won 20 games last year, then came in and was undefeated in playoffs. So, they’ve got two good goalies up there.

“And you know what? There are two good goalies here (with Ingram and Matt Tomkins). And I’ll even go further and say (Nathaniel) Day, (Samuel) Jonsson and (Connor) Ungar, there are some good goalies in the ECHL (affiliate Fort Wayne Komets) too.

“Are they all NHL ready? Well, there are only two spots.”

And with the way things have started out in Edmonton this season, goaltending happens to be the least of the big club’s worries.

E-mail: gmoddejonge@postmedia.com

On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge

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