Sebastian Cossa is the name Utah is banking on to help stabilize its crease in 2026-27.
The Mammoth acquired the goalie from the Detroit Red Wings on June 27, 2026, and the timing lines up neatly with a glaring need. Utah didn’t have a reliable backup goalie in the 2025-26 season, and Cossa arrives with the kind of prospect pedigree that makes him hard to ignore.
Born in Hamilton, Ontario, Cossa was selected 15th overall in the 2023 NHL Draft by Detroit. He’s now just shy of 24, and the Red Wings kept him in the AHL, where he kept building experience instead of sitting behind another goalie on the depth chart.
That development path paid off in 2025-26. In the AHL, Cossa put together a 26-8-4 record with a .915 SV% and five shutouts. He also got one NHL look in 2024-25, and it was a tidy one: a 6-5 SO win in which he stopped 12 of 14 shots.
At 6'6", Cossa brings the kind of size that jumps off the page, and he was a standout in the WHL before turning pro. Given Utah’s backup situation and the workload he has already handled in the AHL, the expectation is that he should slide into the No. 2 job behind Karel Vejmelka without much trouble.
Long term, the upside is what really matters here. Utah is hoping Cossa grows into a star and eventually pushes for the starting role.
If Vejmelka hits a rough patch in 2026-27, Cossa becomes even more valuable. And if injuries or slumps create problems down the line, he could be the answer waiting in reserve.
At the very least, Mammoth fans should get a look at him soon.
In Other News...
Utah Still Faces One Huge Hurdle In The West
For a Utah team trying to climb into the Western Conferences top tier, the conversation still starts with the same obstacle: the conferences established powers are not going anywhere. ESPN framed the challenge around whether Utah can truly disrupt the current order after years in which the West has been driven by heavyweights such as Edmonton, Vegas and Colorado. There is reason for optimism, though, because Utah showed enough last season to suggest it belongs in the mix, and its offseason was built with the idea of keeping important pieces in place while adding more experience around the roster.
The next step is less about reputation and more about execution, which is where the real uncertainty begins. Utahs path forward depends on health, the kind of breakout seasons contenders usually need, and meaningful help from its prospects as they grow into bigger roles. Those are all encouraging ingredients, but in a conference this deep, simply being improved is not the same as being dangerous enough to break through. [Read more 🡒]