DETROIT – Going from juniors to pros was a big step for Sebastian Cossa. Going from ECHL Toledo to AHL Grand Rapids this season would be another level of progression for the prized Detroit Red Wings goaltending prospect.
Cossa did well with the Walleye. Now he’ll face faster players whose passing is quicker and crisper and shots harder and more accurate — if he earns the job.
“It’s a big step up and one I want to continue taking for my development,” Cossa said. “I need to prove I can be there first.”
The Red Wings are counting on it. Cossa, who turns 21 on Nov. 21, is expected to team up with newly signed veteran Alex Lyon, 30, and give the Griffins better goaltending than they had last season when they used eight netminders.
Cossa was among the group but wasn’t AHL-ready, posting a 5.57 goals-against average and .783 save percentage, albeit in a small sample size (three games).
The 15th overall pick in 2021 fared much better in Toledo, going 26-16-4 with a 2.56 GAA and .913 save percentage. He went 5-2 in the playoffs, with a 2.32 GAA and .917 save percentage, helping the Walleye reach the Western Conference finals.
“I had some ups and downs, but I thought I had a strong second half and a good push in the playoffs,” Cossa said.
He formed a solid tandem with John Lethemon (18-1-3, 1.99 GAA, .930 save percentage), the ECHL goalie of the year who also will be competing for a job in Grand Rapids.
“Leth and I got along really well,” Cossa said. “He’s a veteran guy who’d been in the league for a couple of years and really helped me. Extremely good goalie, very competitive. We pushed each other each day.
“When you see a guy like that at the other end of the rink every practice, working as hard as he does, just the little stuff off the ice, that’s probably what’s most important.”
The 6-6 Cossa has a long list of areas he needs to improve on this season.
“Continue to work on skating,” he said. “I’m just really dialed down on my ankles, my tracking, my hands, stick play. There’s lots of small details I can work on. In my small taste of the AHL, they move the puck around quick. Making sure my tracking is right. If I’m set on pucks, if I’m on angle, not a lot is going to beat me.
“It’s a lot of pre-shot stuff that I’m working on. A lot of it is control, a lot of it is balance. I think from junior to pro, they snap the puck around quicker. On the power play, maybe it’s taking a couple of inches of depth away so I can get from Point A to Point B quicker. Obviously, it is skating, but it’s also player recognition, realizing I’m a big guy and sometimes I don’t have to be at the top of my crease to make saves. It’s kind of realizing the game and getting used to that level.”
Red Wings assistant director of player development Danny Cleary credited Phil Osaer, head of goaltending scouting and development, for helping Cossa take the next step.
“It’s right there for him,” Cleary said. “He had a good run in Toledo. Coss is going to be here working on his game with Phil. It’s going to be the consistency for getting his mind right every day. But he’s certainly grown. Coss is maturing. He’s a fun kid. He’s always joking and talkative, but he’s a good goalie. He’s big, he’s good, and he’s gotten better.”
Cossa is glad Dan Watson, his head coach in Toledo, was hired in the same capacity for the Griffins.
“He’s definitely a player’s coach,” Cossa said. “Very personable with the players and everyone would run through a wall for him. During the playoffs and even halfway through the year, we had one of the better power plays and penalty kills in the league. Obviously, that reflects on our assistant coaches as well, but he helps with that, too.”
Cossa added: “He brings a calmness to the locker room. It’s somewhere that you like to go every day. You’re really happy.”
Cossa was the first goalie selected in the 2021 draft, five spots before Minnesota took Jesper Wallstedt, who was an AHL All-Star last season, his first with the Iowa Wild.
Time will tell if the Red Wings made the right decision.
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