Abel to Yzerman

Abel to Yzerman

On Donovan Sebrango And Sebastian Cossa

06/02/2022 at 9:08am EDT

from Ansar Khan of Mlive,

Detroit Red Wings defense prospect Donovan Sebrango would have just completed his fourth and final junior season under ordinary circumstances.

Instead, he already has 96 games of AHL experience at age 20, accelerating his development.

Sebrango took another step this past season, playing in 65 games with the Grand Rapids Griffins (one goal, six assists).

“Donovan’s best characteristics are his competitiveness and his work ethic,” Griffins coach Ben Simon said after the season. “I think that with those two things, he’s got a great future ahead of him. But he has to make sure that this summer is huge for him in strength training.

“He’s still a young kid, but at the end of the day, once the puck is dropped, they don’t check birth certificates. You’re competing, whether you’re 19 or 20 or you’re 30 or 31, you’re playing on the same sheet. (Age) is no excuse. He’s got to realize that. He’s going to be better served for being in these situations.”

continued

from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press,

Steve Yzerman described it as a selfish wish, but its fruition is a good sign for the Detroit Red Wings rebuild.

The guy the Wings hope is their goaltender of the future is poised to continue a stellar playoff run Friday when his Edmonton Oil Kings face the Seattle Thunderbirds in Game 1 of the Western Hockey League championship; the winner earns a berth in the Memorial Cup tournament. Sebastian Cossa, a first-round pick from 2021, has a 1.97 goals-against average and .909 save percentage in 13 playoff games.

In early May, Yzerman said, "selfishly, I'm hoping his team goes very far, that would be great experience for him," while discussing the broader topic of when Cossa might be ready to join the Wings.

Sebastian Cossa, a Detroit Red Wings' 2021 first-round draft pick (No. 15 overall), during his time in the Western Hockey League.

Cossa's appeal leading up to the draft was multifold: He had a 1.57 GAA and .941 save percentage in 19 games (the season was protracted because of the pandemic), and at 18 years old already towered at 6 feet 6, 212 pounds. The Wings wanted him badly enough to trade up to No. 15, drafting Cossa shortly after defenseman Simon Edvinsson at No. 6.

continued

Create an Account

In order to leave a comment, please create an account.

About Abel to Yzerman

Welcome to Abel to Yzerman, a Red Wing blog since 1977. No other site on the internet has better-researched, fact-laden and better prepared discussions than A2Y. Re-phrase: we do little research, find facts and stats highly overrated and claim little to no preparation. There are 19 readers of A2Y. No more, no less. All of them, except maybe one, are juvenile in nature. Reminding them of that in the comment section will only encourage them to prove that.