Detroit Red Wings trade up to select goaltender Sebastian Cossa
By Bob Heyrman
We have a trade. The Detroit Red Wings traded up to select goaltender Sebastian Cossa.
Red Wings general manager (GM) Steve Yzerman swapped first-round picks with the Dallas Stars to select the stellar goaltending prospect.
Yzerman called a familiar face in Jim Nill to make this deal happen. Nill joined the Detroit Red Wings’ front office in 1994 and eventually became former GM Ken Holland’s right-hand-man before accepting the GM role in Dallas in 2013.
Detroit sent Dallas the 23rd pick via Washington along with picks 48 and 138, all in the 2021 NHL Entry Level Draft to secure the 15th overall choice, which was spent on Cossa.
When the trade was announced, I felt the Red Wings were poised to select goaltender Jesper Wallstedt who would eventually go a couple of picks later at no. 20 to Minnesota.
The Detroit Red Wings select their future franchise goaltender, Sebastian Cossa.
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Cossa is a spectacular prospect that stands a towering 6-foot-6 and plays around 215-pounds. The product of the Edmonton Oil Kings posted eye-popping numbers this past season, going 17-1-1 with a save percentage of .941% and a near flawless goals-against average of 1.57.
The year prior with Edmonton, Cossa appeared in 33 games posting a record of 21-6-3 with a goals-against-average of 2.23 and save percentage of .921%.
We know the league is trending towards these large, athletic netminders, and Yzerman clearly has a type. Yzerman added Ben Bishop, who is 6-foot-7 in Tampa Bay, and drafted Andrei Vasilevskiy, a bit smaller at 6-foot-3 but plays bigger than his appearance. Just look at how big Vasilevskiy looked compared to Carey Price in the handshake line after the Stanley Cup Finals. Both players are the same size, yet Vasilevskiy appeared double the size.
Red Wings select defenseman Simon Edvinsson no. 6 overall. dark. Next
So in the past 24 hours, Yzerman has traded for a potential franchise goaltender in 25-year old Alex Nedelijkovic for the now, plus added the future in net by drafting Cossa at no. 15 overall. Talk about changing the direction of a franchise overnight.