Sebastian Cossa stops 28 of 29 Wild shots as Grand Rapids tops Iowa
Last night at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Sebastian Cossa starred in a 4-1 win for the Grand Rapids Griffins over the Iowa Wild—propelling the Griffins into third place in the AHL's Central Division.
Sebastian Cossa at the 2023 NHL Rookie Symposium at Medstar Capitals Iceplex in Arlington, VACossa faced 29 shots and turned aside all but one. For the season, Cossa now has a .901 save percentage and 2.95 goals against average in 15 appearances.
His performance alone is praiseworthy, but it's made more significant when factoring in the man in the opposite crease: Jesper Wallstedt. Wallstedt was the consensus top goaltender entering the 2021 NHL Draft, but the Detroit Red Wings chose Cossa with the 15th selection, five slots before the Wild took Wallstedt at 20th overall. That history means the pair will share a certain connection throughout their professional careers. Wallstedt made 19 saves on 23 shots on the evening.
Tim Gettinger, Antti Tuomisto, Joel L'Esperance, and Dominik Shine chipped in goals for the Griffins, while Jonatan Berggren, Simon Edvinsson, Amadeus Lombardi, and Marco Kasper all gave assists.
On the same day that his fellow Red Wing goaltending prospect Trey Augustine won gold at the World Junior, Cossa offered a reminder that he too can provide reason for optimism about the future of the Detroit crease.