Oilers eye up Oil Kings goalie Cossa
PRE-NHL draft, head amateur scouts always say “we'll take the best player available” when it's their turn to pick in Round 1, when you scream for a quote like, “If the four guys we want at our pick are all gone, I'm going for a few beers.”
We know the Edmonton Oilers are not taking a defenceman at No. 20 with their deep prospect pool there. But a goalie? Absolutely.
They have Edmonton Oil Kings goalie Sebastian Cossa very high on their list, along with agitating leftwing shooter Brennan Othmann, who played in Switzerland this winter with the OHL shut down because of COVID. In their firstround area, they also have rangy right-winger Oskar Olausson, who played on Sweden's world junior team last Christmas here, or any of three Quebec league forwards — Zach L'heureux, Zach Bolduc or Xavier Bourgault.
But who knows if they change gears.
With no second or third-round picks, maybe they trade back from 20 for a later first-rounder and somebody's second-round selection. Then you've got Swedish winger Simon Robertsson, whose dad Bert played briefly here, or maybe Shane Doan's son, forward Josh, off at Arizona State.
In a perfect world, the Oilers, who own the WHL Oil Kings, want either Swedish goalie Jesper Wallstedt or Cossa, who is in their backyard, when they pick, even if they already have Stuart Skinner in Bakersfield. They've set aside a suite at Rogers Place on Friday night for Cossa and Oil Kings winger/teammate Dylan Guenther to watch Round 1 on TV.
The Oilers will be watching where Cossa goes intently because he's that good. There's a reasonable chance some other team will beat them to it, like Chicago (pick No. 11) or Calgary (12). He's talked to Detroit a ton, too, but they pick sixth, as well as 25th.
“For me, Cossa and Wallstedt are along the lines of (Andrei) Vasilevskiy ... they're as close to being ready for the NHL as any forward taken,” said TSN draft expert Craig Button. “I believe they're two years away because they've advanced technically and have all the skills. A lot of teams are looking at goalies, though.”
Cossa (38-7-4 over last two seasons, with a .931 save percentage) considers himself a No. 1 goalie.
“Definitely,” said Cossa, who turns 19 in November. “I'm just confident with my game, the work I've put in. I don't see anything stopping me from where I want to be.”
Cossa is 6-foot-7 and 210 pounds. He wears size 15 shoes he orders online, and size 13 custom-made Bauer skates, with his game growing as much as his body.
He was just invited to Canada's world junior team development camp July 28-Aug. 4 along with Kamloops goalie Dylan Garand, who was backup to Devon Levi on last Christmas' silver-medal team, and Tristan Lennox, who was a camp cut. Cossa probably has one more year with the Oil Kings, then he'll turn pro rather than play as an overage junior.
He would love to be on the Canadian team this Christmas, even when all the focus is on the goalies in the worlds.
“That's why I became a goalie, being the last guy (back), the villain, I love the pressure of that,” said Cossa, who grew up in Fort Mcmurray and lived through the devastating fires there when he was 13.
“It was definitely scary when the fires were still burning. We were out of our house for three months. Very fortunate our house wasn't affected, just smoke damage.”
Cossa was a second-round pick (36th overall) in the 2017 bantam draft, the fourth goalie taken. He hurt his hand that season.
“The bantam AAA all-star game practice ... somebody had a breakaway and I fell back and cut my wrist on my own skate. Severed a nerve but fortunately not the tendons above it. The mobility part wasn't an issue on my catching hand,” he said.
Now we'll see which team grabs him. Best attribute: his size and athletic ability. Second: his fire.
“He wants the net and wants to win badly,” said Oil Kings general manager Kirt Hill. “Cossa's flexibility for a big guy is very good. His rebound control, he closes all the gaps.”
“Cossa's so smart at reading plays. He makes a ton of crossice, one-time saves,” said former NHL goalie/central Scouting Bureau expert Al Jensen. “Sebastian and Jesper are head and shoulders above the rest of the goalie class.”
Taking a goalie in Round 1 has always been a nervous call because they take longer to develop, but the success of Vasilevskiy in Tampa (19th pick in 2012) has changed minds. You can never have too many young ones in a pipeline.
“I remember one year in Washington where first round, they took Olaf Kolzig. Second round, they select Byron Dafoe. And (coach) Bryan Murray looks at (GM) David Poile and says, `Have we already given up on the first guy?'” Button said with a laugh.
“I recall the Oilers had Andy Moog and drafted Grant Fuhr, too,” said Button. “Stuart Skinner had a really good year in Bakersfield and if he continues to progress, and I have no doubt he will, he'll be in the NHL. But that doesn't mean you don't take Cossa.”