On Sebastian Cossa, a blank mask, and balancing goalie development in Detroit

Where do you put a raw, but supremely talented 19-year-old goalie prospect?

Sebastian Cossa has already been asked the question he can’t answer hundreds of times.

Whether it’s from friends and family or from reporters, like myself, the Detroit Red Wings goalie prospect has been inundated with some form of “Where are you going to be playing this season?”

“It’s funny, there’s really nothing I can do about it,” Cossa said Friday morning. “I think I’ve done a good job taking it day-by-day, and I have to keep remembering it’s not my decision.”

Detroit has high hopes for Cossa, whom they drafted in the first-round in 2021 (15th overall), and in the long-term scheme, the 19-year-old is Steve Yzerman’s hopeful answer as Detroit’s version of Andrei Vasilevsky.

But handling young goalies is an inexact science. Goalies are voodoo, and finding the right development path is crucial for Cossa’s long-term success.