Grateful for NHL experience with Red Wings in 2024-25, Cossa focused on next steps

GRAND RAPIDS -- Goalie prospect Sebastian Cossa is even more determined to reach new heights after his brief stint with the Detroit Red Wings during the 2024-25 season, which included the 22-year-old winning his NHL debut via a shootout in a relief effort against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Dec. 9.

“That experience was huge for me,” Cossa recently told DetroitRedWings.com. “You’re around all those guys at Training Camp and in the preseason, but when you’re there doing the real thing with them in a competitive mode like that it’s really fun. I was really happy to get the win there, grow from it and know what that’s like.”

In his second full campaign with the Griffins, Cossa posted a 21-15-5 record with a 2.45 goals-against average, .911 save percentage and one shutout over an AHL career-high 41 regular-season games before appearing in two Calder Cup Playoff contests.

“He had a very good first two-thirds of the season,” Red Wings Executive Vice President and General Manager Steve Yzerman said about Cossa on April 29. “His play dipped a little bit after the American League All-Star break. I’m not ruling anything out, but he’s going to have to take another step here if we want to count on him to be in Detroit next year.”

Growth is certainly what every young player in the Red Wings organization aims to show and Cossa, the No. 15 overall pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, is no exception.

“It’s been a lot of the smaller stuff within my game,” Cossa said. “My skating has improved but so has my management of the game. My depth at certain points has improved. It’s all that situational stuff, but my skating has probably been one of the biggest improvements and I’m happy with that.”

Cossa is also continuing to learn what it takes to be successful on and off the ice.

“There’s been a lot of maturity,” the young netminder said. “Just growing and knowing life as a pro, like what you need to do at and away from the rink. I’d say I’ve grown every year [since 2021].”

And while detailing how he’s been building the necessary skills that he believes will help him in the future, it didn’t take long for Cossa to commend Griffins head coach Dan Watson.

“He’s awesome,” Cossa said about Watson, who was also his head coach while the pair were together with Detroit’s ECHL-affiliate Toledo Walleye in 2022-23. “I have a different relationship than the skaters have with him, but I’m very comfortable around him. It’s an open-door policy with him, so I try to take advantage of that.”