The Detroit Red Wings rebuild has been long and strenuous. Over that time, they have hit on some prospects and missed, as any organization does. That also means they have had the chance to learn some things along the way.
If there’s one thing that Detroit Red Wings General Manager (GM) Steve Yzerman knows, it’s that goaltending can be a real backbone for an organization’s success. Especially when you have a Vezina candidate between the pipes. For example, Andrei Vasilevskiy in Tampa Bay.
In Detroit, the Red Wings have not had that in quite some time, but the Red Wings are hoping they can find “their guy” in due time. Ville Husso has been brought in to handle the workload. Things did not go great in year one, as he struggled to stay between the pipes and ran out of gas.
It’s not that the team has written off Husso, but there’s a lot of stake in Sebastian Cossa, a former first-rounder that the Red Wings hope can be an asset in the crease down the line. The thing is, it might take time and more time than the Red Wings were initially hoping.
Detroit Red Wings are going to be patient with Sebastian Cossa.
The Red Wings thought they might have had something in Filip Larsson, the standout Swedish netminder who spent some time with the University of Denver and then jumped into the organization. He ended up being released, and the Red Wings went their separate ways.
Now, with Cossa, they are hoping he can live up to the hype and become a solid NHL netminder one day. As of late, things have not been great. His performance during the Prospect Tournament was not ideal, and the team commented on their top goaltending prospect.
From the sounds of it in this piece on NHL dot com, both the Red Wings and Cossa will take the patient approach. The Red Wings are thrilled with Cossa’s work ethic and drive, but the performance needs to come around, and there seems to be a mutual agreement that it will come around in due time.
That being said, the Red Wings will shake off the Prospect Tournament performance and look for Cossa to do the same. In three appearances, Cossa totaled 84:53 in time between the pipes for the team’s squad of prospects.
He faced 54 shots, allowing 13 goals and making 41 saves for Detroit, playing to an abysmal .759 save-percentage and 9.19 goals-against average. Even in a small sample size, it’s a really tough look for the 20-year-old goalie.
However, the Red Wings are hopeful he can shake it and get back on track. He settled in well with the team’s ECHL affiliate last year, playing in 46 games with the Toledo Walleye, managing a 26-16-1 record while performing to a .913 save-percentage and 2.56 goals-against average.
He had a couple of chances in Grand Rapids last season, but it was a three-game performance similar to his time in the Prospect Tournament. But, looking ahead, the Red Wings are hoping he can get a hold on his performance and settle in with the Grand Rapids Griffins.
The good thing is that the Red Wings brought in a few netminders to hold things down in Detroit and provide some depth in the AHL. Cossa should have a good chance to settle in and work on his development. The Red Wings will be patient with the young netminder, and it seems like that might be what he needs.