Trey Augustine, Sebastian Cossa named in EliteProspects’ Top 20 NHL-affiliated goaltending prospects list

Two days ago, EliteProspects’ Mitch Brown listed 6 Red Wings prospects among his “Top 100 NHL-affiliated skater prospects,” and this morning, the multi-talented Sean Shapiro lists EliteProspects’ top 20 goaltending prospects:

#3 Trey Augustine

As a pair of similar-aged goalies, Trey Augustine and [Canadiens prospect Jacob] Fowler are going to be compared side-by-side throughout their careers. Last season we had Augustine ranked 5th and Fowler at No. 6, and it would be shocking if they are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 next season since both will likely be Calder Eligible at this time next season.   

Augustine has one of the most impressive résumés of any international goalie, junior or otherwise. He won back-to-back World Junior championships as the starter, has gold medals from Under-18 and already had a successful stint on the senior nation team. At Michigan State, his performance and impact have become the bedrock for a team that’s now a national title contender.

Truthfully there’s nothing left for Augustine to accomplish at the amateur level (if we can still call college athletics amateur). But he returned for his junior season at Michigan State to chase a national title, and he might even win the Hobey Baker Award in the process. 

…

#4 Sebastian Cossa

Sebastian Cossa is an interesting case study as he’s a goaltender who was drafted high, shown consistent strides of improvement, but has fallen out of favour in public discourse due to his situation, lacking meaningful NHL experience as Detroit has crowded the crease ahead of him the past few years and the success of Augustine at Michigan State making Cossa, at times, feel expandable. But for any organization outside of Detroit, San Jose, and Montreal, Cossa would instantly upgrade a franchise’s long-term outlook in net. 

Cossa is one of the most effective users of his size at 6-foot-6, with a great frame on direct shots and when low in the crease, he’s able to completely cover the entire bottom of the net without leaving his five-hole open. He’s also exceptional along the post as well, leaving no room for shooters. Positionally he’s sound, boasting good depth, angles, with the only area of improvements being route selection and occasionally playing too aggressive. All the while, Cossa has the skating and athletic profile of a goaltender much shorter than him.  

Cossa will likely still be on this list next season, but it’s only because of the lack of NHL opportunity. And in the long-term it’ll be a fascinating development to see how and who the Red Wings eventually pick to pay as their No. 1 goalies between him and Augustine when both are hitting their mid-20s. 

Tweet of note: Praise for Dylan Larkin from the NHL Network’s Mike Rupp

It’s always nice to hear praise for Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin:

Tweet of note: 97.1 the Ticket to broadcast Wings’ four exhibition home games

According to Red Wings play-by-play announcer Ken Kal, 97.1 the Ticket will broadcast four of the Wings’ 8 exhibition games:

The four exhibition games are the Wings’ home exhibition games.

Grayden Robertson-Palmer making the adjustment from high school hockey to the QMJHL

Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff profiles Red Wings 2025 draft pick Grayden Robertson-Palmer this morning, discussing the uphill battle which the 204th overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft faces:

Robertson-Palmer has been turning heads in Moncton [Wildcats’] training camp. He tallied a highlight-reel goal during a scrimmage. He scored a goal in the Wildcats’ most recent QMJHL preseason game.

Stepping into the major junior ranks from high-school hockey, Roberson-Palmer is expecting the transition to be challenging.

“I think having to learn how to like read off plays, move my body different ways, cut back in different ways and keep my head up all the time so I don’t sustain any big injuries,” he assesses as his main challenges. “I think that’s going to be the biggest difference for me.”

Those who know him best, his teammates at Phillips Andover, praise the leadership qualities that Robertson-Palmer exhibits.

Whether it was organizing a team dinner or a Secret Santa, or providing a teammate with a non-judgmental sounding board, his teammates talk about how they could always count on Robertson-Palmer to be at the forefront of the team’s leadership group.

“I feel like he’s the kind of guy who’s always there for you if you need something or just want to talk,” teammate Edouard Lord told The Phillipian. “He’s good at making sure everyone’s in a good mental state.”

Continued; Robertson-Palmer won’t be playing alongside Guimond as the goaltender committed to Yale University, but the 5’11,” 196-pound center suggests that his 16 goals and 23 assists in only 30 games played for Phillips Andover Academy (while wearing the captain’s “C”) emphasize his strength as a playmaking forward.

Tweets of note via Duff: Red Savage officially signs 2-year contract with the AHL’s Rochester Americans

Yesterday, the Hockey News’s Ken Campbell reported that former Red Wings prospect Red Savage signed a 2-year contract with the AHL’s Rochester Americans, and, as noted by Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff, that contract was made official today:

Audio link: Ken Daniels and Mickey Redmond appear on ‘100% Hockey with Millard and Shannon’

Follow the links to listen on your preferred podcast platform…

It’s an hour-and-five-minute long podcast in which Darren Millard and John Shannon speak with Ken Daniels and Mickey Redmond…And here’s a 10-minute highlight clip of Ken and Mick being Ken and Mick:

Tweet of note: NHL Network’s Mike Rupp praises Pavel Datsyuk

Here’s the NHL Network’s Mike Rupp raving about Pavel Datsyuk’s skill set as one of the most underrated superstars of all time:

On Thursdays, we fundraise

As noted two days ago, we’ve met our server fundraising goal, which is awesome…

But Aunt Annie and I still have plain old bills to pay and $200 in which to survive until the 12th of September, when the State of Michigan sends me a paper check for being her caregiver (yes, they really still send paper checks in 2025), so, a fundraising we will go.

At this point, it’s just survival, but some months I’m able to raise a couple hundred bucks for the bills, and some months, I work for free, so let’s see what happens.

Any denomination of donation will help us, and it’s all greatly appreciated. As I always say at the end of these appeals, thank you for reading. This is a small blog, but we’ve got extraordinarily dedicated and generous readers, and you’re what makes this thing work.

Continue reading On Thursdays, we fundraise

John Gibson, likely to ‘fall off a cliff?’

Daily Faceoff’s Anthony Di Marco answered reader questions for a mailbag feature today, and he’s not a John Gibson fan, that’s for sure:

Fall off a cliff: John Gibson is my pick here, though he hasn’t exactly been in top form in recent years, albeit last year was a strong bounce-back. Detroit Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman was finally the one to pull Gibson out of Anaheim, but I just can’t foresee this particular move working out. The Wings have their fair share of problems defending as is and we just saw several years of a sample size watching Gibson play behind a team with similar flaws. Given his age, injury history and team in front of him, I can fully see Gibson’s game cratering this season. 

The 32-year-old Gibson is definitely a risk as he’s struggled alongside his Anaheim Ducks until Lukas Dostal gave him some relief this past season…But the Red Wings are betting on Gibson’s ability to bounce back behind at least a semblance of a decent defense, and one way or another, his renaissance needs to occur starting this October.