On Sebastian Cossa (Or a Critique of Sports Fandom)
This article really isn’t about the top Detroit Red Wings goaltending prospect Sebastian Cossa. It’s more about the second part of the headline. This is a discussion about sports fandom that I’ve wanted to have for over a year but have been too cowardly to post online until now. Cossa is merely the starting point for this. It’s mostly because of the discussion around him that made me want to do this, but frankly, the discussion of another controversial Red Wings prospect, Nate Danielson, added fuel to the fire. This is not a Red Wings fandom-specific discussion. It’s about all fans everywhere, but since I am a Red Wings fan, I’ll use a fanbase I’m a member of to share my thoughts.
Before we get to that, the queer population living in Kakuma refugee Camp in Kenya need help. There are over 1,000 queer asylum seekers and refugees there, fleeing from discrimination. Unfortunately, their basic needs are not met and they cannot seek employment as it is illegal for queers there to have jobs. There is a fundraiser on Go Get Funding and if you are able, please financially support them, and whether you can give money or not, please share the fundraiser and get out the word. You can follow the organizers of this fundraiser on Twitter.
Sebastian Cossa was drafted fifteenth overall in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. The Red Wings traded with the Dallas Stars to move up to get him. When the trade initially happened, most thought this meant the consensus #1 goaltender, Jesper Wallstedt, was about to get taken by Detroit. Instead, as he did in 2019 with drafting Moritz Seider at #6, Steve Yzerman stunned the world again by announcing the name “Sebastian Cossa”. The Red Wings fanbase, much like they did in 2019, revolted. The discourse was unhinged. Ok, allow me to clarify: more unhinged than usual. The discourse surrounding him only got worse the next fall when it was announced that he would spend his first pro season with the Toledo Walleye in the ECHL rather than the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL. Meanwhile, Jesper Wallstedt, who had been drafted by the Minnesota Wild a few picks later, was going straight to the AHL to play for Minnesota’s affiliate, the Iowa Wild. Allegations of him being a “bust” were rampant and only got worse as he struggled in the first half of the season. In the second half of the season, however, he got it together and was the best goaltender in the league for the second half of the year and a brick wall in the net, especially in the playoffs. But, it was the ECHL, so most fans did not care. Top prospects do not play in the ECHL. Therefore, it did not matter how well he played, it was the ECHL. Discussions of him being a “bust” continued and got louder again when the Red Wings drafted Trey Augustine in 2023. I remember quite a few fans confidently stating that the Red Wings realized they screwed up in drafting Cossa and were taking Augustine to remedy that mistake. Then the 2023-24 season happened and Cossa firmly cemented himself as not only the #1 goaltender for the Griffins but for the Red Wings prospect pipeline and had a better season than Wallstedt. There are still some rumblings of disappointment with Cossa or people claiming Augustine is the better prospect, but they’re a minority and usually aren’t too loud about their anti-Cossa views anymore.
Now, we’ll go back to the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. With the ninth pick overall the Detroit Red Wings selected Nate Danielson. To say this pick wasn’t popular would be an understatement. Much like with Seider and Cossa, the fans revolted. This time, seemingly fans were even more fed-up than in the past. Years of frustration with Yzerman’s drafting boiled over and the writers and fans went to town putting Yzerman on blast for drafting Nate. Those who have followed me for a long time know that I was a fan of that pick from day one, but I was part of an almost non-existent minority. Claims that Danielson didn’t have a high-ceiling was the favorite. Fans focused on this as it’s been claimed for a few years now that Yzerman doesn’t draft high-ceiling players, he goes for the “safe pick”. Keep that in mind as that will be important later on in this article.
So now that I’ve spent time laying the groundwork, you’re probably wondering where I’m going with this. In this article I want to discuss sports fandom, the narratives that get created, and how they’re propped up endlessly, without thought, when there’s often little to no basis support, and even more so: are often hypocritical. Cossa and Danielson are the perfect examples of this. One, Cossa, is an example of Yzerman swinging for the fences like fans demanded and him getting attacked for doing so. The other, Danielson, is an example of a player fans claim is a “safe pick”, and getting mad at that. No matter what Yzerman does, people get mad for completely different, and quite hypocritical reasons.
The first thing we’re going to explore is the anger over selecting Cossa. As stated, Cossa was a home-run swing by Yzerman. We’re just waiting to see if the ball makes it into the stands or if it falls just in front and into an outfielder's glove (sloppy analogy, but you get it). It’s the kind of swing fans have been demanding, and yet they were, and still are, angry over this pick, wanting Wallstedt instead. Wallstedt had a high floor, and Cossa had a very low floor. Cossa is the definition of a “project pick”. He was far from being a sure thing. But his potential was considered by most scouts and draft experts at the time to be the highest of any goaltender in the draft. Wallstedt was about as sure-fire of a hit as possible with a goaltender, but a lower ceiling than Cossa. He still has a high ceiling, mind you, there’s a reason he was taken in the first round, something that is rarely ever done with a goaltender. You’re expected to be something special when that happens. It was known from day one that Cossa would take longer than Wallstedt, something that has been proven true. Wallstedt already has played in NHL games at age 21, something not common for goaltenders. Cossa, if he’s lucky, will get called up for a game or two in the second half of this upcoming season. Wallstedt is quickly living up to the hype while Cossa remains further behind in the development process. Once again, this was always expected. Knowing something was going to happen doesn’t make it easier, though, if you were against it in the first place as so many Red Wings fans were. If anything, seeing Wallstedt accomplish so much so early is further proof to many that the Red Wings screwed up, even if Cossa is doing quite well and looking very promising. The allure of having a higher ceiling (and looking like it too) just isn’t enough for many when Wallstedt was the one who was hyped and is doing so well. So, to wrap this up: fans are still upset three years later that the player with the lower ceiling, the safer pick, wasn’t taken.
In 2023, Danielson got drafted. He was deemed immediately as a “safe pick” as mentioned earlier and fans raged at Yzerman for doing so. I couldn’t help but notice how many of those doing so were the ones who were upset over Cossa being drafted. The intersection was quite noticeable. It’s almost as if fans don’t know what they want. Let’s be real: every fan is a couch GM. Every. Single. One. If you say you’re not, you’re a liar. It comes with the territory of being a sports fan. If we didn’t think that, we wouldn’t be so bold and regular in our critiques of actual GMs. But let’s be honest: critiquing your GM, whether positively or negatively is a huge part of the fun of being a sports fan. While we’re being honest, let’s also admit that many of the things we critique them for are hypocritical. In the case of many Red Wings fans, it’s them whining that they didn’t draft the lower-ceiling goalie and went with the higher-ceiling one instead, and also complaining that they took a center deemed to have a low ceiling. You can’t have both and be logically consistent. But let’s be real: sports fandom isn’t about being logically consistent. Fans truly do want to have it both ways. They don’t see a problem with wanting the lower ceiling in one case and also complaining about getting a lower ceiling in another. For so many, this makes sense, because in their heads where they play GM, this is what they would’ve done. Therefore it all makes sense.
Now, I want to dive deeper into something and frankly, this is the real reason I wanted to write this article. All that, the 1,300 plus words you just read were really one massive set-up for this one sentence: I am done and tired of hearing about “safe picks”. It’s a ridiculous critique. When someone says “safe pick” it is ALWAYS meant in a derogatory manner. Every. Single. Time. Without fail. Yet, many draft picks are safe picks and no one complains. Connor Bedard was a safe pick, but no one calls him that. Adam Fantilli and Leo Carlsson were safe picks. No one calls them that. Nate Danielson is a safe pick (albeit a high-ceiling one contrary to popular myth), and everyone calls him that, but as always, in a derogatory manner. Here’s the thing: safe picks are not inherently bad. Safe picks are made all the time and no one complains. Furthermore, even picks deemed “safe” by the public are not always low-ceiling. Many, like Danielson, are high-ceiling, actually, and I’ve been saying so since before the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. Remember: I had him going seventh overall to the Philadelphia Flyers. I’ve been saying for a year now that he’s got #1 center potential. Yes, I recognize that right now at this stage of his development, he’s projecting to be more of a #2 center, but the potential to be a #1 center is still there. He has the tools. Anyway, back on track. I’m completely over the “safe pick” critique. When someone says that a draft pick is a “safe pick”, that’s not what they actually mean. What they mean is “a pick I personally don’t like”. That’s it. That’s all it means. Every single fan whining about Danielson would’ve been jumping for joy to get Fantilli, who was one of the safest picks possible at the NHL draft. It’s not about whether a pick is “safe” or not that gets fans so worked up. It’s the narratives they concocted in their heads about that player. In 2024, I’m begging fans to move past the “safe pick” critique unless they’re willing to start using it to describe the sure-fire superstars in the draft like Celebrini. I know that won’t happen, but I’m going to try.
Anyway, that’s everything I have for today. Seriously, thank you for reading. I’ve been wanting to get this off my chest for a year now and it’s honestly a relief to have finally done so. Anyway, that is all for this article. If you found value in it, please consider paying for a subscription here at Prism Hockey, as subscription money goes to other subscriptions such as ESPN+ or Google One to ensure I can continue to cover hockey. If you aren’t able to buy a paid subscription, please consider at least getting a free subscription as all articles are free, and sharing this article. I’d also love to hear your thoughts on this article in the comments below (only paid subscribers can comment) or on social media. I can be found on Bluesky, Instagram (Personal | Prism Hockey), Mastodon, Threads, Tumblr, and Twitter.