A Fort McMurray hockey player is getting one step closer to playing in the NHL.
Sebastian Cossa, goaltender for the Edmonton Oil Kings, officially signed a three-year entry level contract with the Detroit Red Wings over the weekend.
He was drafted 15th overall in the 2021 entry level draft by the team last month.
Speaking on Fort McMurray Matters, Cossa says he’s itching to show all the Red Wings fans why Detroit drafted him so high.
“They want me there and there’s high expectations, but there’s nothing more that I want.”
Cossa was interviewed by all 32 NHL teams ahead of the draft.
When chatting with the Red Wings, he had the opportunity to speak with former goalie Chris Osgood.
“You know they have a lot of interest in you if they’re going to have a guy like that talk to you and him just talk about his career and his ups and downs.”
During the last season for the Oil Kings, Cossa posted a 17-1-1 record.
In those 19 games, he .941 save percentage and 1.57 goals against average.
“There’s a lot of work to be had, I’m just gonna have to show Detroit that they made the right decision,” added Cossa.
He is just the fifth goalie in the past five NHL drafts to be selected in the first round. He joins Jake Oettinger in 2017, Spencer Knight in 2019, Yaroslav Askarov in 2020, and Jesper Wallstedt in 2021.