The 23-year-old appeared in just one game for the Red Wings. Jamie Sabau / Imagn Images
June 26, 2026 Updated June 27, 2026 12:32 am EDT
Sebastian Cossa is getting a fresh start.
The Detroit Red Wings traded the top goalie prospect to the Utah Mammoth for the No. 23 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. Detroit drafted JP Hurlbert with the pick.
Hurlbert is a highly skilled winger prospect. He was the fourth-leading scorer in the Western Hockey League this season, with 97 points and 42 goals for Kamloops, after departing from the U.S. National Team Development program. He brings a much-needed injection of creativity into the Red Wings’ pipeline.
Cossa had been viewed as the Red Wings’ future in goal since they traded up to pick him at 15th in the 2021 NHL Draft. The 6-foot-6 goaltender was named to the American Hockey League All-Star Game in each of the past two seasons, and he finished his three full AHL seasons with strong save percentages of .913, .911 and .915.
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But despite that AHL success, the 23-year-old appeared in just one game for the Red Wings, a 2024 shootout win over the Buffalo Sabres. Cossa entered that game with Detroit trailing to begin the second period, and he gave up two goals on 14 shots in the comeback victory.
Cossa did not get any NHL action this past season, though, and despite being the Grand Rapids Griffins’ starter for most of the AHL regular season, he served as the backup in the Calder Cup Playoffs behind Michal Postava. Postava had finished the regular season stronger than Cossa, who struggled in March, and never gave the job back after a strong start to the postseason.
That development first raised the possibility of a Cossa trade, with Postava only nine months older than the 2021 first-round pick. Cossa will lose his waiver-exempt status next season and would have needed to be on Detroit’s NHL roster to avoid being exposed to waivers. That will still apply to the Mammoth.
Cossa’s size and pedigree still make him an intriguing goaltender for the Mammoth. But the Red Wings’ handling of Cossa late this season made it fair to question his place in their future, and with Postava and 2023 second-round pick Trey Augustine also in the system, Detroit could afford to deal from its goaltending pool.
Jun 27, 2026
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