Yesterday, The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler included four Red Wings prospects among his top 50 non-goaltender NHL prospects’ list, and, this morning, Wheeler adds a fifth Detroit prospect to the mix in Sebastian Cossa:
4. Sebastian Cossa, G, 18 (Detroit Red Wings — 15th overall, 2021)
I really like Cossa as a goalie prospect and understand the allure the Red Wings felt in taking him instead of [Minnesota Wild draft pick Jesper] Wallstedt. They weren’t alone in that belief. He’s a massive, superbly athletic and confident goalie who fills the net, has great hands up high, corrals a ton of pucks in his chest and then has rare side-to-side ability for a goalie as big as he is. But there’s just a question mark or two more present in Cossa’s game than in Wallstedt. There’s obviously the contextual piece of the puzzle where you can’t help but wonder if some of his results are influenced by playing behind a dominant Oil Kings team the last two years. But it’s hard to knock him for that. The real concern, if there is one, is stylistically in the way he can pull himself out of position and lose himself in the net a little on scramble plays. Because he’s so strong and athletic, his pushes can lack control. And after noticing that he was getting beat a lot five-hole at Team Canada’s summer showcase in Calgary, I reviewed some tape this week to check on that and I do think it’s a bit of a concern (hard to close the five-hole when you’re 6-foot-6!). None of this is meant to downplay how good Cossa is, though. He’s got starter upside and rare explosiveness for his size.
Continued (paywall); in case you didn’t catch his drift, Wheeler has Wallstedt ranked one spot higher than Cossa.
