Trey Augustine may be one of the most talented goaltenders drafted by the Detroit Red Wings, and that’s before getting his skates in an NHL crease. Augustine, already coming off an incredible year where he was named men’s Big Ten goaltender of the year, has put himself on the watchlist for not one, but two of college hockey’s most prestigious awards this year.
The 20-year-old netminder is in his junior season at Michigan State, carrying a 17-3-0 record with a 1.75 goals against average and 93.7 save percentage. Now, he’s been named as one of a few select players to watch for not only the Richter Award, given to the NCAA’s best netminder, but also the Hobey Baker Award, which goes to the best player in all of college hockey.
Two of Augustine’s teammates are also up for the Hobey Baker Award, as the USCHO No. 2 ranked Spartans look to work back to the Frozen Four after a disappointing end to their season last year. Augustine is coming off a year where he not only helped the Spartans to make a deep playoff push, but also helped the United States win Gold at the World Juniors. Despite being slightly undersized for the position at 6-foot-1, the South Lyon native is showing that his mind and speed have an outsized effect on his play.
Augustine may “only” have the second best save percentage in the NCAA, but he’s played nearly twice as many games as the netminder ahead of him this season.
Do the Red Wings need more help at goalie?
For all the hype surrounding Augustine, he is still yet to sign an entry level contract with the Red Wings, The Red Wings also have two young goalies technically ahead of Augustine in their pipeline with Sebastian Cossa and Michal Postava in the AHL.
Augustine likely won’t want to take a backseat role to Cossa, who has currently been taking the lion’s share of starts in Grand Rapids. However, with Cam Talbot not having won a game in regulation in a month and Postava recently returning from injury, it may be time to give Cossa a couple of looks before the NHL breaks for the Olympics. Talbot’s contract also runs out at the end of the year, so it could be that the veteran netminder can be parlayed at the trade deadline if he gets some form back as a rental.
Cossa is having his best season with the Grand Rapids, and one way or another should be looking to get NHL time before this time next year. If there is a clear runway to competing as a starter in the AHL after his season at Michigan State ends, Augustine might be more inclined to sign a contract with the Red Wings.
After all, goalies are never a sure shot, and while the Red Wings have been patiently developing Cossa for three years with the Griffins, as evidenced by John Gibson’s takeover in net this year, Detroit isn’t afraid to play the hot hand in net.