Detroit — The Red Wings were hoping goaltender Sebastian Cossa would be a franchise goaltender for many years when they selected him in the first round of the 2021 draft.
There were stretches of promise, instances where you could see the potential.
But it stretched over an entire season, never gave the Wings enough confidence, and the hope ended Friday when the Wings dealt with Cossa, the 15th pick in 2021, to Utah for the 23rd pick in the first round.
The Wings quickly selected winger J.P. Hurlbert with that 23rd pick.
Hurlbert (6-foot, 190-pound) scored 42 goals in Kamloops of the Western Hockey League, leading all rookies in the WHL. A Dallas native, Hurlbert will play college hockey at Michigan this fall. Hurlbert will be the fourth generation of his family to attend Michigan.
The Wings gave up Cossa, a goaltender who never earned the complete trust of Wings’ management.
Cossa, 23, had stretches of outstanding hockey in the minor leagues in Grand Rapids, but never could make the jump to the Wings.
Cossa had a great first half this season, including winning goaltender of the month in the AHL in November and December, while posting a 10-game win streak and a 14-game point streak in the process.
But Cossa slumped down the stretch and saw Michal Postava get the starts in the playoffs. With Postava’s emergence, and Trey Augustine (Michigan State/South Lyon) turning pro, the Wings feel comfortable with their depth at the position, along with Toledo’s Carter Gylander and Rudy Guimond (Harvard) in the system.
In Utah, Cossa will likely back up Karel Vejmelka, who has played 58 and 64 games the last two seasons.
Cossa gets an opportunity to slowly adapt and adjust to the NHL, while on a Mammoth team that made the playoffs last season.
tkulfan@detroitnews.com
@tkulfan
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Sebastian Cossa, traded to Utah, never earned trust of Wings’ management
Reporting by Ted Kulfan, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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By Ted Kulfan, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
