Month: July 2021

Red Wings have six more picks on Day 2 of the 2021 Draft; Day 2 preview to stream at 10:30 AM

The Detroit Red Wings will attempt to add six more prospects to their pool of developing players this morning…

And the Red Wings are streaming a half-hour-long preview show on their YouTube channel at 10:30 AM EDT:

Niyo: Wings seek short-term, long-term gains in goal

The Detroit News’s John Niyo weighs in on the Red Wings’ decisions to upgrade their goaltending for both the present and long-term future, via the team’s trades for 25-year-old Alex Nedeljkovic and the draft-day move up to pick Sebastian Cossa 15th overall.

Two days, two netminders, and perhaps one less pressing concern for the Wings’ rebuilding effort in Detroit.

Thursday’s trade with Carolina for goalie Alex Nedeljkovic offers the more immediate solution, bringing in a 25-year-old Calder Trophy finalist signed for two years at a reasonable $3 million annual salary-cap hit. That deal only cost the Wings a late third-round pick (94th overall) and the rights to pending free agent Jonathan Bernier, the 32-year-old who’d made nearly 100 starts for Detroit over the last three seasons.

But then Yzerman followed it up Friday with a bold move in the first round of the draft, swinging another trade — this time with old friend Jim Nill and the Dallas Stars — to move up with Detroit’s second first-round pick and select who the Wings felt was the top goalie in this class, 18-year-old Sebastian Cossa of the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings.

That made a big night even bigger for the Red Wings, who’d already used their initial first-rounder (No. 6 overall) on a smooth-skating, left-shot defenseman from Sweden, Simon Edvinsson, who carries some serious upside in his nearly 6-foot-5 frame. And yet he still may find himself looking up to Cossa one day, because the new goalie is a towering 6-foot-6 presence in the crease.

Niyo continues (subscriber-only), noting that there are similarities between the latter move and the Tampa Bay Lightning’s drafting of Andrei Vasilevskiy in 2012 (with a pick snagged from the Red Wings), but he points out that Cossa is, of course, newly-drafted…

Khan: Wings’ first-round picks are defensively oriented

MLive’s Ansar Khan penned a late-night article discussing the Red Wings’ first-round selections, Simon Edvinsson and Sebastian Cossa, noting that the Red Wings’ emphasis here is on improving their team’s defense:

The Detroit Red Wings went big during the first round of the draft Friday, with a focus on preventing goals against.

The Red Wings selected 6-4 left-shooting defenseman Simon Edvinsson with the No. 6 pick and 6-6 goaltender Sebastian Cossa with the 15th pick, after trading up from 23.

“I think it’s imperative to have a good defense to win championships ultimately,” Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman said. “You’re not winning without a good goalie; you’re not winning without a good D corps. Once you are a solid defensive hockey team, you’re going to be competitive. You can win a lot of nights. Over time you can add to the offense.”

Khan continues…

Monroe: Former Griffins, Walleye goaltender Pat Nagle considers his next move

Pat Nagle has served as an integral part of the Red Wings’ minor league system as a starting goaltender for both the Toledo Walleye and Grand Rapids Griffins, but he enters this summer as an unrestricted free agent-to-be, and Nagle spoke with the Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe regarding his uncertain future:

“I want to build off of the [2019-20 season]. Last year was such a different year, you don’t really want to close the book on your career on that note,” he said. “But if that’s the way it works out, that’s the way it goes and I’ve had [11] years of professional hockey and I’m fortunate to be able to say that.”

Nagle said he will get together with his family and agent to determine the best course of action.

“We’ll see if the best option is to stay in North America or if the best option to go to Europe or if it’s best just to call it,” he said. “We’ll see what happens in the next month. It’s another summer of being a free agent.”

Continued

Cossa exudes confidence

97.1 the Ticket’s Will Burchfield noted that Red Wings 15th overall pick Sebastian Cossa is one confident, cool cat:

In the Red Wings’ rebuild, one of the biggest questions marks — perhaps thebiggest — is in the crease. Cossa might be the answer. He’s highly confident in his game, and he has every reason to be based on his performance the past two seasons. His belief in his ability was reflected in his nonchalance about being the first goalie off the board.

“I think my play earned it for me,” he said. “The confidence I have in my game, I think I’m going to be the best goalie in this draft. So I got picked where I should be.”

Wallstedt, the other top-rated goalie in the draft, went five picks later to the Wild.

“The draft is Day 1. There’s a lot of work to be done from now,” said Cossa. “Being picked first, that’s more motivation. I can’t let him catch up to me.”

Continued; here’s more from MLive’s Ansar Khan:

In his WHL rookie season of 2019-20, Cossa went 21-6-3 with a 2.23 GAA, .921 save percentage and four shutouts.

“When I’m at the top of my crease, there’s not a lot to shoot at,” Cossa said. “Still recognizing that and patterning my game after that. My hands don’t have to move as much. My depth control is a big focus for me. There’s bigger holes with bigger goalies, but when I’m seeing the puck very well I definitely use my size to my advantage.”

Cossa is looking forward to a bright future for the organization.

“They have a lot of bright, young prospects,” he said. “I think this team is really going to be making a big push in the next couple of years. I can’t be happier to be there with them in a couple of years.”

Continued…