Red Wings Boast Young Goalie Depth Beyond Cossa

When the Grand Rapids Griffins suffered from the Red Wings’ lack of goaltending depth a couple of seasons ago, Detroit GM Steve Yzerman made it his mission to begin stockpiling younger goalie prospects.

Today, the Red Wings boast an intriguing list of young goalies, led by Sebastian Cossa (15th overall, 2021) who recorded his first NHL win Monday against Buffalo.

At 22, the 6-foot-7 Cossa seems close to being ready for the NHL. This season, he is 9-4-1 for the Grand Rapids Griffins with a 2.21 GAA and .925 save percentage. He’s a primary reason why the Griffins are enjoying one of the best starts in their history.

At worst, it seems like he would be the team’s No. 3 goalie next season and start the 2025-26 season in Grand Rapids with an expectation he would spend time in Detroit. At best, he could be in Detroit, playing with Cam Talbot. Ville Husso, Alex Lyon and Jack Campbell will be UFAs next season.

Here are the Detroit Red Wings prospect goalie waiting for their opportunity:

2. Trey Augustine (41st, 2023)

At 19, Michigan native Augustine is just below Cossa on Detroit’s goalie list.  He is highly accomplished for a goalie his age, having been a difference-maker on a U.S. team that won the 2024 World Junior Championships. He’s also going to be on this year’s USA team.

He has also already played for USA at the men’s World Championships. Currently, he’s  a workhorse goalie for the Michigan State team that is ranked No. 2 in the nation.

Augustine hasn’t dropped any hints about when he plans to turn professional. But it would not be unthinkable for him to turn professional at the end of this season, knowing that traditionally a goalie must spend considerable time in the minor leagues before he’s ready for the NHL. This is Cossa’s third season of pro hockey.

3. Carter Gylander (191st, 2019)

Let’s consider Gylander “the sleeper” in Detroit’s stable of goalies. The 6-foot-4 late round pick played four seasons at Colgate and developed steadily.

The Red Wings would not have signed him if they didn’t have faith in his potential. They believe in him enough to have given him games with Grand Rapids this season. He is 2-1 for the Griffins with a 3.49 GAA and .890 save percentage. In his time with the Toledo Walleye, Gylander is 5-1-2 with a 2.35 GAA and .917 save percentage.

4. Landon Miller (126th, 2024)

He’s another 6-foot-4 goalie for the Detroit stable. His Soo Greyhounds team isn’t as strong as it was last season. That’s the explanation for the fact that he has a 6-8 record with a 3.67 GAA after posting a 17-6-2 with a 2.79 GAA in his draft season of 2023-24.

5. Rudy Guimond (169th, 2023)

Guimond has committed to Yale starting in the 2025-26 season. That will give the Red Wings some time to evaluate his NHL potential.  With the NCAA rule changed to allow CHL goalies to be eligible to play in college, Guimond recently left the USHL to play for Moncton in the QMJHL. He gave up two goals, making 37 saves, in his first start.

The big question here is how much playing time he will get in Moncton. The team already had Jacob Steinman (17-5-2, 2.29, .922). He recently committed to play college hockey at Bowling Green.

This is a Moncton team that could be in the hunt for the Memorial Cup.