The Detroit Red Wings’ goaltending pipeline looks a lot different now, and The Athletic’s latest prospect rankings make that impossible to miss.
In the outlet’s NHL Top 20 goalie list, released by the New York Times, Detroit has two names near the top - and Sebastian Cossa is not one of them. Augustine comes in at No. 3, while Michal Postava lands at No.
- Cossa, who is now with the Utah Mammoth, checks in at No. 4 as he gets ready for the possibility that he’ll be his new club’s backup in the 2026-27 season.
That’s a notable turn for a goalie who had long been viewed as Detroit’s future in net after the Red Wings selected him in the first round in 2021.
At the top of the list is Montreal’s Jacob Fowler at No. 1, followed by San Jose draft pick Joshua Ravensbergen at No. 2. Ravensbergen’s place on the ranking comes with a twist: he’ll be the one replacing Augustine as Michigan State’s primary goalie next season.
Athletic analyst Scott Wheeler divided the 20 goalies into four tiers, and Fowler is the only one in Tier 1. Augustine and Cossa are both in Tier 2, part of a group of eight goalies in that category. Postava is slotted into Tier 4, though there’s an argument he should have been placed higher after leading his Czech team to a title two seasons ago.
For Detroit, the Cossa decision still needs time to sort itself out. In the short run, the move appears to make sense for the team because Postava is only nine months younger than Cossa and posted a steadier .937 save percentage in the regular season. The Red Wings also believe Postava can become an NHL backup at some point this season, which is why they brought in Florida Panthers backup Daniil Tarasov as insurance.
The trade return also ended up being better than expected. While reports had suggested Detroit would only land a second-round pick for Cossa, the Red Wings got Utah’s first-round pick instead. They used it on a University of Michigan-bound recruit who already ranks 64th on The Athletic’s Top 100 Prospects.
As for Augustine, the next step is clear enough: Grand Rapids will be the place where he gets the reps and the seasoning to match the No. 3 billing.
And in a league that keeps leaning toward bigger goaltenders, Augustine’s size stands out in its own way. Six-foot-three has started to feel like the baseline, but The Athletic’s list includes 14 goalies who are 6-foot-2 or shorter - Augustine among them at 6-foot-1.
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Keenan has added offense to his game while still handling the work that matters most in his own end, Phelan has settled in as a dependable stay-at-home presence, and Cleveland continues to bring the size and edge that made him such an intriguing pick in the first place. None of that guarantees a quick path to the NHL, but it does mean Detroit still has three blue-line projects worth tracking as their college seasons unfold and the club weighs future contract decisions. [Read more 🡒]