Once every month last season, the goaltending development coach for the Red Wings would visit Sebastian Cossa in Edmonton. They'd catch up and work on a few things. But mostly, "I think they tried to keep their distance and let me play my game," Cossa said Monday.
Which made sense: the 19-year-old was in the middle of a terrific season in the Western Hockey League. The Red Wings weren't about to interfere. Their goalie of the future went 33-9-3 with six shutouts in the regular season, which would have been impressive on its own. Then he went 16-3 with five more shutouts in the playoffs to lift the Edmonton Oil Kings to the WHL championship.
Along the way, Cossa said he added "some efficiency to my game," a scary thought in regard to a 6'6 behemoth coming into his own.
"I’m still only 19, so my body is not done growing yet. I think just with strength and flexibility, my body is still going to be re-defined. And just getting more stable and more balanced, I think my entire body is going to improve," Cossa said.
Drafted 15th overall last year, Cossa is in Detroit this week for Red Wings development camp. He is stopping pucks in the arena he hopes to eventually call home. He'll be sticking around for a couple extra weeks with a smaller group of top-tier prospects, at the Red Wings' invitation, "just to continue working on my game," he said. Looking around Little Caesars Arena, Cossa would just as soon stay for good.
"This rink is pretty special, this organization is pretty special. So definitely just being here, I want to stay here," Cossa said.
But there are no shortcuts to the NHL. Cossa's next stop is likely Grand Rapids, where his next step is conquering the AHL. Nothing has been confirmed yet by the Red Wings, but that's where Cossa plans to be next season.
"Going into this season, I want to play at the highest level of hockey I can," he said. "My game is going to do the speaking for me and management has the say in where I will be playing, but I want to play at the highest level I can and compete at that level."
Asked if he needs to prove to himself that he can succeed at the next level, Cossa said, "I put a lot of work in my game, so I’m very confident in myself and in my game. I’ve already proven it to myself. Now it's just going out there and showing it."
Do not bank on seeing Cossa in Detroit next season, even if he starts and plays well in Grand Rapids. The jump from juniors to the AHL is the biggest one of his career, even bigger than the one that comes next. Cossa is a prospect, but the AHL is full of pros. He will need at least a full season of experience, of lessons and losses and growing pains, before he is ready for the NHL. He doesn't turn 20 until November.
In Detroit, the Wings should have a solid goalie tandem in Alex Nedeljkovic and the newly-acquired Ville Husso. Steve Yzerman has brought them in partly to give Cossa time. He will arrive when he's ready, and not a moment before then. Cossa said it himself: "My game is still far off." In other words, his game is still growing, a scary thought indeed.
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