Not to be heartless but we got a win and our best players have stayed healthy (sans the idiot). Since the Avs game was already postponed, we only lose out on one game over the next eight games. Hopefully everyone else stays healthy and we make it out of this okay, but it’s been about the best of the worst case scenarios.
The league postponed all games on the 27th, so the Wings don’t play again until the 29th. Breaks well for us, really.
He only played 20 games last season, he would have had struggles if the season went longer. It’s hard to judge goalies until they get into the AHL or NHL.
He’s 15-3-3 with a .924 SV% and 2.26 GAA. About as good as you can ask. Especially when looking like what his team does with the other goalie. 6-3 with an .893 SV% and 3.10 GAA.
Cossa gave up 5 goals on 11 shots in an exhibition. Canada decided to go with someone shittier because of that. There will be a quick trigger for whoever is in goal.
It's funny everyone is worried because of an exhibition game for Cossa and one game for Wallstedt. Cossa has a 2.26 GAA in a league where 21 of 33 qualified goalies have a GAA over 3 and has a very solid save %. Let's not overreact to one exhibition game....
We aren’t talking about one game, lol. Jesper Wallstedt, in the 2nd/3rd best league in the world has a .923 SV% and 1.82 GAA. Cossa is worse playing against kids. But we won’t know for a few years who was the better pick, right now it’s clearly Wallstedt.
Our staff has shown a great ability to scout Swedish players, I'm sure they had their reason and I trust their judgements on that
I am sure they had their reasons too. That’s not the point. It’s a big call and it looks potentially wrong right now. That’s all, plenty of time for Cossa to be great still. It’s just newsworthy when one is a healthy scratch and the other drops a 48 save shutout.
Wallstedt was always viewed as the "better right now" guy, while Cossa was viewed as having higher potential, right? Or did I imagine that? Either way, I'm not going to get worked up about a goalie's performance 6 months after a draft unless he becomes a sieve or something. Those guys take a while regardless.
They both have the same potential, top 5 goalie in the league. Wallstedt was better at the time of the draft. The question was who was more likely to reach that potential. Argument can be made that Wallstedt might be closer to being maxed out since he’s been playing pro hockey for 3 years. Like everyone has agreed, we won’t know for awhile.
it would suck if he ended up not working out but Yzerman's hit rate on high draft picks is already way better than it was before him, plus with acquiring Ned, we can hope for the best but things are still looking up.
I love the WJC but it’s an overrated data point for guys like Edvinsson and Wallstedt. They are both doing great in a men’s professional league, so it shouldn’t be a shock that they are dominating a bunch of 18 and 19 year olds. I still love when Edvinsson murders the competition, but it’s the expectation with him. In regards to Cossa, nothing he does this season will do much for his stock, barring him totally nosediving in the second half of the WHL season. It’s worth noting that Cossa has basically never gone beyond 35 starts in the WHL, so it is a bit of an unknown as to how he might hold up over the long haul. That said, I think expectations for Cossa can truly begin when he gets to GR next season. And finally, goalies are hard to figure out. Askarov has been trash this season in Russia, while Spencer Knight has looked terrible for the Panthers this season.
If "everybody" wanted Wallstedt but Stevie and the scouts wanted Cossa, I'm giving the benefit to Stevie and the scouts. Let's judge that pick in a couple years.