NHL.com’s Aaron Vickers posted a profile of Red Wings goaltending prospect Sebastian Cossa, who hopes to back-stop the Canadian World Junior team to a gold medal after Christmas:
Sebastian Cossa is hoping to make his mark in Canada’s crease at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship.
The 19-year-old, who plays for Edmonton of the Western Hockey League, is one of three goalies auditioning for the role of No. 1 for Canada, joining 2022 NHL Draft eligible Brett Brochu of London of the Ontario Hockey League and New York Rangers prospect Dylan Garand of Kamloops of the WHL.
“It’s a lot of sacrifice and hard work that’s gotten me to this point, so you embrace it and enjoy it,” Cossa said. “There’s a lot that comes with it, putting on the Team Canada jersey, a lot of expectations. You go out and try to represent your country and play well for them. Being the goalie for Team Canada definitely comes with the expectations that you’re going to do good and a lot falls on your shoulders. At the end of the day, I’m just trying to keep a pretty small mindset and do my job and stop the puck.”
The three goalies were the only ones Canada brought to selection camp Dec. 1.
They’ve been in competition ever since to become Canada’s No. 1 for the tournament, beginning Dec. 26 against Czechia at Rogers Place in Edmonton — Cossa’s home rink.
“The three of us have created a close bond and that’s just going to increase as the tournament goes on,” said Cossa, who counts World Juniors performances from Carter Hart (2017, 2018) and Carey Price (2007) among his most memorable. “It’s competitive, but not anti-competitive where you’re wishing bad on those guys. You just play your game and whoever is No. 1 is whoever is going to play the best and do the best for the team to try to help us win a gold medal.”
