Yesterday morning at this time, The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler posted a list of his top 100 NHL-drafted skaters, and four Detroit Red Wings prospects cracked Wheeler’s list.
This morning, Wheeler offers a list of his top 20 NHL-drafted goaltenders, and both Trey Augustine and Sebastian Cossa make Wheeler’s list. Augustine sits 3rd overall, and Cossa sits 8th.
Here’s Wheeler’s bottom line on Augustine, who’s entering his junior season at Michigan State University at 20 years of age…
While he’s not big for a goalie (he’s listed at 6-foot-1 and 190-something pounds, up 15 pounds from a year ago) and he can occasionally get frozen glove side or drop pucks into his glove, he’s a goalie I have a ton of confidence in projecting to have a good pro career. He doesn’t have obvious starter talent or size, but I could see him getting there (or at the very least becoming a solid, reliable tandem goalie). I’d trust him to play for my team and remain even-keeled any day. He and fellow Red Wings goalie prospect Sebastian Cossa are such different people and goalies as well, which will make for an interesting yin and yang dynamic, I think. But I’m a bigger believer in Augustine and believe has has already passed — or will pass — Cossa on their depth chart.
And here’s Wheeler’s bottom line on Cossa, who’s played the last two seasons in the AHL after starting his career with the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye:
There have been times over the years when I’ve seen him look leaky and really struggle to close his five-hole because of his size (this remains a bit of a recurring issue, though it has improved, and he does a really good job kicking pucks aimed for the lower corners). He’ll still occasionally lose himself in his net on scramble plays, as those strong pushes to get to tough lateral saves can pull him off his lines. He can get pulled out of his net over-committing on dekes. But he has worked to settle down in each of those areas (his habits still need to be more consistent), and his natural gifts give him undeniable upside. When he’s set and square to shots, he’s tough to beat. I’ve seen him look unflappable and make point-blank save after point-blank save when he’s dialed in. I’ve also seen him look rattled as shots sneak through holes they shouldn’t be finding. I still think he has upside due to his combination of size, dexterity, competitiveness and explosiveness in the net. But he’s still got work to do as well.
Wheeler continues (paywall); I do think that Augustine and Cossa are “neck-and-neck” as the Red Wings’ best goaltending prospects, but Cossa turns 23 in November, and Augustine’s only 20, so I’m expecting Cossa to at least get a couple of “looks” this upcoming season, before slotting in as the Wings’ back-up in 2026-2027.
Cossa has played 40 and then 41 games in the regular season with Grand Rapids, and the Wings will probably want him to play 50-55 games this upcoming season.
