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Sebastian Cossa Becomes Second ECHL Player To Make NHL Debut This Season

stephen kerr
·2 min read

Coming into the 2024-25 season, a total of 752 former ECHL players had reached the National Hockey League since 1988.

Since then, two more former players have seen NHL action. Former Utah Grizzlies goaltender Trent Miner made his NHL debut with the Colorado Avalanche on Nov. 15 against Washington.

This week, former Toledo Walleye goalie Sebastian Cossa made his NHL debut with the Detroit Red Wings. He made 12 saves in relief at Buffalo on Monday, earning a 6-5 shootout victory for Detroit.

Ville Husso started the game in net for the Red Wings, who were 0-3-2 in their last five games. Husso allowed three Sabres to score on seven shots in the first period before being pulled for Cossa, who became the 11th goaltender in Red Wings history to get a win in his NHL debut. He’s also the first netminder in Detroit history to debut with a win in a shootout.

Selected by the Red Wings in the first round (15th overall) of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, Cossa appeared in 46 games for the Walleye during the 2022-23 season. He posted a 26-16-4 record and finished tied for third in the league with a 2.56 goals-against average and tied for 10th with a .913 save percentage.

Cossa also represented the Walleye at the 2023 Warrior/ECHL All-Star Classic in Norfolk that season, becoming the 73rd player from the ECHL All-Star Game to reach the NHL and the 57th since 2002.

The Hamilton, Ont. Native has also played in 57 career American Hockey League games for Grand Rapids, going 32-14-10 with three shutouts, a 2.49 GAA and .911 SVP.

Prior to selecting Cossa, the Red Wings acquired the 15th overall pick from the Dallas Stars in exchange for the 23rd, 48th and 138th overall selections in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft.

Before the draft, Cossa was coming off a dominant season with the Western Hockey League’s Edmonton Oil Kings in 2020-21, leading the league in both goals-against average (1.57) and save percentage (0.941). He also tied for the league lead in shutouts (four) and ranked second in wins (17) along with a 17-1-1 record.

As a WHL rookie in 2019-20, Cossa posted a 21-6-3 record, 2.23 GAA, 0.921 SVP and four shutouts. He was the NHL Central Scouting Bureau's top North American goaltender for the draft and the first goaltender off the board.

Before joining the Oil Kings, Cossa played the previous three seasons (2016-19) with the Fort Saskatchewan Rangers in the Alberta minor hockey ranks. He captured a league championship, top goaltender and most-valuable player honors in 2016-17.