When the Red Wings re-signed Grand Rapids Griffins goaltender Victor Brattstrom to a 1-year extension and then signed Finnish World Championship MVP Jussi Olkinuora, Wings fans wondered aloud where Wings prospect Sebastian Cossa fit into the mix.
As Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen notes, it’s not certain yet whether Cossa, who spoke with the media today, will head back to the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings for one more season, play for Grand Rapids, or skate for the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye:
The Detroit Red Wings haven’t yet talked to prize goaltending prospect Sebastian Cossa about where he might be playing next season.
“I’m assuming that will probably happen in the next couple of weeks here,” Cossa said Monday on Day 2 of the Red Wings’ Development camp. “Looking forward to that.
It’s easy to presume the Red Wings will send him to Grand Rapids to let him starting the learning process against American Hockey League competition. But plenty of NHL goalies didn’t reach the AHL until the third season after they were drafted. That list includes Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy, Pittsburgh’s Tristan Jarry, Florida’s Spencer Knight and Philadelphia’s Carter Hart.
Jarry and Hart played two more seasons in the WHL after they were drafted before starting their pro career. Cossa has only played one WHL season since the Red Wings drafted him 15th overall in the 2021 draft. He will still be 19 when the 2022-23 season starts. Even Marty Brodeur was 20 when he started in the AHL.
“I want to play at the highest level of hockey I can,” Cossa said. “I think my game is going to do the speaking for me. The management obviously has that kind of say where I’m gonna be playing. I want to play at the highest level of hockey I can and compete at that level.”
Allen continues, and the Detroit News’s Richard Silva also posted a notebook article regarding the confident, composed Cossa:
Continue reading Cossa’s future playing spot yet uncertain, but his confidence and composure speak for themselves