EDMONTON — Connor Ungar made the most of a difficult situation last season, which did not go unnoticed by the Edmonton Oilers.
The 24-year-old goalie bounced around the ECHL and American Hockey League in search of playing time and made a good impression everywhere he landed. That earned him a one-year, two-way contract worth $850,000 he signed with Edmonton on June 18.
“I think when you look back at it as a whole, there was a lot of positive stuff,” Ungar said at Oilers development camp in June. “Then there’s a lot of stuff that I need to continuously keep getting better at and I have a lot of stuff that I need to keep working on.”
Ungar played for Fort Wayne, Greensboro and Orlando in the ECHL and Bakersfield in the AHL last season. He played so well in Bakersfield, some Oilers fans suggested he should be brought up to the NHL for a look.
“He’s a really good young goalie and he started the season as our No. 7 in the system, and that’s why we didn’t even have a spot in Fort Wayne for him,” Oilers assistant general manager, player development and innovation Kalle Larsson said. “He went to Greensboro and Orlando in the ECHL, stood on his head and made his mark. He got called up to Bakersfield and did the same thing there.
“He really was in a tough situation and turned it into something awesome and I think that’s a huge challenge for any player, but especially for a goalie.”
Ungar started the season in Fort Wayne, Edmonton’s ECHL affiliate, but only played two games behind Nathaniel Day and Samuel Jonsson, each Oilers draft picks. He won both starts with a 1.44 goals-against average and .944 save percentage.
Originally signed by the Oilers to a two-year, entry-level contract as an undrafted free agent out of Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario, on March 18, 2024, Ungar was loaned to Greensboro in late October and played four games with the Carolina Hurricanes affiliate. He went 2-1-1 with a 1.42 GAA, .945 save percentage and one shutout.
Ungar was then loaned to Orlando, the Tampa Bay Lightning affiliate, where he played 19 games between callups to Bakersfield, going 7-8-3 with a 2.66 GAA, .913 save percentage and three shutouts. He was 9-2-2 with a 2.51 GAA, .923 save percentage and one shutout in 13 AHL games.