A shot at world juniors is 'a dream come true,' Connor Ingram says

It's a dream for junior hockey players across the nation to join Canada's National Junior team and represent the country on the world hockey stage.

This weekend in Quebec, 32 junior players from across Canada are attending the players selection camp.
Connor Ingram is hoping to join the team as a goalie.

- AUDIO: Blazers' quirky goalie Connor Ingram

Ingram, 19, currently plays for the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL.

He is from Imperial, Sask., which is about 140 kilometres northwest of Regina.

"I was pretty excited," Ingram said, recalling his reaction to learning he would be at the selection camp. "It's a dream come true."

The dream had early beginnings.

Ingram remembers, as a youngster, how he was keen to be like his older brothers who were all playing hockey.

"Mom and dad had me out there on my skates probably when I was three or four just running into the boards trying to figure out how to stop," Ingram said.

His decision to become a goalie was also made at a young age.

"It started in mom's living room. Somebody had to play goalie ... and being the youngest, you'd do anything," he said.

He also has many fond memories of the local hockey rink.

"It was one of those thing where you could always go. If you got bored you could walk down to the rink and kill some time," he said, noting he stops in at the rink whenever he returns home for a visit. "It was amazing to me."

He said his role now, in the net, has become a very natural thing for him.

"It's been, for the past almost 20 years of my life doing it. So it's something you get used to and you just kind of adapt to," he said. "It's a high pressure situation but it's enjoyable at the same time."

Ingram will learn Tuesday if he makes the team.

"No matter what [the outcome], just being there is always exciting. Whether I make it ... or they send me home, it's something I'll always remember," Ingram said.

The tournament takes place Dec. 26 to Jan. 5 with preliminary rounds for Team Canada in Toronto and the medal games set for Montreal.