Mark Newman/Grand Rapids Griffins Photo
Red Wings Prospect Sebastian Cossa Benefitting from the Veteran Presence of Michael Hutchinson in Grand Rapids
The life of a professional goaltender in the sport of hockey - like a pitcher in baseball or quarterback in football - can doubtless be a lonely one.
Your club's fortunes rise and fall based on your performance, and in a game where the mental is as critical as the physical, having a friendly ear and shared perspective can be the difference between career success and abject failure.
The Grand Rapids Griffins have found themselves with an early goaltending tandem which they hope results in regular season and playoff paydirt across the AHL.
Rising from the ECHL's Toledo Walleye, the consensus top goaltending prospect in the Detroit Red Wings organization Sebastian Cossa has been a magnet for both widespread curiosity, and at times social-media-driven criticism, since being drafted 15th overall by the club in 2021.
The Hockey News
The Hockey News
He now finds himself under the learning tree of multi-year NHL veteran Michael Hutchinson, who joins the Griffins on a PTO.
"Obviously a lot of experience there. He's been really great. We've been talking every single day and each goalie session that we have I feel like I pick something up each day," Cossa shared of working alongside the 33-year-old veteran during a Griffins media call. "He's been kind of helping me progress my game and giving me pointers here and there. Our relationship has been growing and is really good so far."
For Hutchinson, a third-round pick of the Boston Bruins in 2008 who has suited up for the Jets, Panthers, Maple Leafs, Avalanche, and Blue Jackets across 153 NHL games, passing on knowledge accrued through a decade-plus spent in the pros across various leagues is a part of his newfound role in Grand Rapids.
Michael Hutchinson - Grand Rapids Griffins
Mark Newman/Grand Rapids Griffins Photo
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"He's only played two games and he's played amazing in both of them," Hutchinson shared of Cossa's play. "I've been through many ups and downs and I've learned a lot of things along the way ... Little things that I handled well, things I didn't handle well, things I would have wished I had handled differently at the time. I'm just trying to learn from that moving forward. And so that's the kind of stuff, in talking to him, I have that experience of I've been through it.
"I've let in an overtime goal in game seven and had to figure out a way to get over that. I've been called up, I've been sent down, I've been healthy scratched as a goalie, which is an interesting one. So for myself, I've got a ton of different experiences, highs and lows. I'm not the type of person who's going to be there forcing anything on him, but if I notice something that I can give a little tip here or there on how to mentally handle some stuff. I'm pretty much an open book and he knows he can ask me a question any time, and I'll try and give him some advice from my own experience."
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Re-teamed with longtime Walleye coach Dan Watson, Cossa has been hot out of the box early, posting a 2.02 GAA and .947 save percentage with one win through two games with the Griffins. For his part, Hutchinson sits with a 3.56 GAA and .915 save percentage, while also alternating a win and loss in his two starts.
"It was a bit of a curve, but it was nice to come up here and play a couple of games last year to kind of see what to expect," Cossa said of his early impressions in the AHL.
"It's been a good start to the season. My defensemen have helped me a lot back there, some key blocks and stuff like that. Just continuing to grow and obviously just playing one team so far. So there'll be some more learning curves along the way, but you know, confidence is high right now. Go into each game just confident in my abilities."
Now at 33, Hutchinson reflects on his winding road to Grand Rapids, and the lessons learned along the way.
"I wish I had learned perspective earlier on. I think as a young kid coming in, you're so focused and short-sighted that a lot of times you lose your perspective on things. In a good game, you think you're king of the world and in a bad game, you think the world is going to end and you may not get another start.
"It's just always keeping things in perspective, whether it's a practice day or game day. There are things even away from hockey that will happen and be challenges throughout your life as a hockey player. So it's just always being able to talk about things and have a support system where you have people around you who can help you keep things in perspective."
