Sebastian Cossa Ready to Win the Mammoth a Lot of Hockey Games

Sebastian Cossa has only spent a few hours in Salt Lake City as a member of the Utah Mammoth. Days after being traded to the team, the goaltender flew in right before going on vacation to check out the team’s facilities and meet with the media for the first time. It’s there that Cossa shared his simple goal for the upcoming season.

“My goal is to come in and play well enough to win a lot of hockey games,” Cossa said.

From an outside point of view, that might look bullish for a goaltender who has only played one NHL game as of right now. However, there’s a lot of belief surrounding Cossa, not just from him but from the entire Mammoth organization, going into what will be his first full NHL season.

A Match That Was Needed

Five years ago, Cossa was drafted 15th overall by the Detroit Red Wings. Ever since then, the goaltender has played in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Grand Rapids Griffins, with the exception of his rookie season, when he played primarily in the ECHL, and in 2024, when he made his lone NHL appearance.

Across his three full seasons in the AHL, Cossa put up a save percentage above .910 every year. He won 69 games with the Griffins, was a two-time AHL All-Star, and also won the Harry “Hap” Holmes Memorial Award this past season, awarded to the goaltender with the lowest goals-against average in the AHL. While Cossa and the Griffins never went far in the playoffs in those three seasons, the goaltender showed he could win in the second-best league in the world.

“Just getting those (AHL) games played, played a year in the ECHL as well, those years pro, I think you just continue to accumulate experience through it, and you’re trying to get the best out of that,” Cossa said.

SEBASTIAN COSSA WITH A HUGE SAVE!!!! #GoGRG #LGRW pic.twitter.com/tpMgaoerhO

— Hockeytown West Podcast (@HockeytownWpod) December 21, 2023

Yet, outside of Cossa’s one NHL appearance, which was an emergency recall due to Cam Talbot and Alex Lyon being injured, the Red Wings never gave the goalie a chance. They’ve brought in Ville Husso, James Reimer, Petr Mrazek, Jack Campbell, Lyon, Talbot, and most recently John Gibson, giving Cossa almost no chance to steal a spot on the NHL roster.

The goalie’s name started being thrown in trade rumors. With Trey Augustine and Michal Postava on the rise as well, a change of scenery was needed for Cossa to get out of an organization stockpiled with goalies.

In came the Mammoth. The backup position was a big hole they needed to address going into this summer. After everything that happened with Connor Ingram, the backup role was one filled with uncertainty. Vítek Vaněček was brought in last season but struggled. Matt Villalta and Jaxson Stauber were never trusted enough by the Mammoth to be NHL goalies either. Yet despite having less NHL experience than any of those guys, general manager Bill Armstrong has full confidence in Cossa.

“If you look at his work in the AHL over the last few years, he’s at the point where he’s accumulated enough games in the AHL, yet his age is absolutely perfect,” Armstrong said. “Now he’s going to have that opportunity to take that next step…I feel like he was a goaltender that we moved towards, and he has a chance to really step in here and be a huge piece of our club next year.”

Confidence Can Go a Long Way

If words weren’t enough, the actual trade itself is one that is telling of the organization’s viewpoint on Cossa. A first-round pick isn’t just something that is commonly traded. The Mammoth also immediately signed him to a two-year deal. It shows a lot of confidence by the organization, which, in turn, gives the goalie a lot of confidence as well.

“The way I was brought in, and they’ve shown full confidence in me, is awesome,” Cossa said. “I still have a lot of work to do, and I’m looking forward to that, but I’m definitely going to feel confident.”

Cossa comes into a group that is of a very similar age to him. In fact, he and Dylan Guenther played on the Edmonton Oil Kings with each other, winning the Western Hockey League (WHL) championship in 2022. Mammoth head coach André Tourigny also coached Cossa at the World Juniors.

The goalie knows of the success the Mammoth had last season. With the team expected to only get better, he wants to be a big part of that going forward as he looks to grow alongside players like Guenther and Logan Cooley.

“It’s a very skilled team, obviously a younger group as well, which is cool, and it’s my age group,” Cossa said. “It’s a cool thing to grow into. They had a really good year last year, and hopefully we continue to build on that this year.”

It won’t be hard for Cossa to fit right into this group either. His favorite activities away from the rink are fishing, hiking, and golfing, all popular hobbies in the Mammoth locker room. He and his wife also share a dog whom he’s excited to bring to Salt Lake City.

The acquisition of Cossa could be a massive move for the Mammoth, not just now but for their future as well. At only 23, not only could he be Karel Vejmelka’s backup, but he could one day find himself sharing the net with Michael Hrabal, the Mammoth’s goalie of the future– a title Cossa could have for himself as well.

“This gives us an opportunity to put a young kid in that we feel has got a chance to really take a step and maybe be a goaltender of the future for us,” Armstrong said. “You never know.”

Raymond goal ✔️
Cossa save(s) ✔️
Larkin goal ✔️#REDWINGS WIN ✔️✔️✔️ pic.twitter.com/3AbI220yoP

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) December 10, 2024

There’s a lot of faith surrounding Cossa heading into what’s shaping up to be his rookie season in the NHL. It’s something he doesn’t take for granted. He knows he’ll still have to work hard to prove himself and prove why the Mammoth spent a first-round pick on him.

However, it’s nothing Cossa isn’t used to doing. At the end of the day, as long as he sticks to his goal, he’ll be fine, and that’s winning hockey games.

“I’m going to come to the rink every day and work my hardest and give the organization and city everything I have,” Cossa said. “Be a good teammate, day in, day out; be supportive of my teammates there. I just want to win a lot of hockey games.”

Belief and support are some of the best things that an organization can give a player. Everything that the team has done for Cossa so far might go a long way. Yes, even to the point where the goalie wins the Mammoth a lot of hockey games.