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Thread: Cossa- Five Reasons For Optimism!!

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    The Great One

    Default Cossa- Five Reasons For Optimism!!

    So if youre like me- you drafted Cossa ahead of Wallstedt on your fantasy squad and your prone to overthinking at times- then some of the more recent Cossa news may have you in the dumps. Dont worry! Emus got you covered...

    So theres been some talk recently about how even the best goalie prospects have taken seven years to make an impact... and thats without exception! You may have heard him being sent to the ECHL affiliate rather than the AHL: one and been worried. Heck you may have seen Wallstedts star rising and kicked yourself for not drafting him instead! It was always going to be a bumpy ride when you grab a goalie for a rebuilding squad with one of your first rounders but Im here to say its not all stale toast and curdled milk! There are some things you can look at and be optimistic about the future for!

    Hes A First Round Goalie!

    What do I mean by this? Well I referenced a rambling-forum topic that popped up recently where it looked at every goalie taken in the first round in the last twenty years and how it took at least seven years for them to make an impact or have success. The same discussion did have positive notes though. Namely that without fail teams who had taken the rare step of investing a first round selection in a goalie have given them ample opportunity to prove themselves- almost to a fault! Although the success rate is about 50% or so (quick and dirty donkey math)- if we go down the list we see nam,es that got multiple shots on the team that drafted them, shots on a second or even thiurd team, sjhots early in their career and shots later in their career! Jonathon Bernier who was a first rounder who kept acrobatic freak and multiple stanley cup winner Jonathon Quick at bay for consecutive seasons! He evn got chances to rejuvenate his career post thirtieth birthday! Not all first round goalie piucks arte created equally but you can bet that goping forward Cossa is going to get at the very least a faiur shakle to prove hes a legit talent... and if that doesnt work hell get another... and if that doiesnt work hell probably get one more.... and THEN Toronto will roll the dice on him! I kid, I kid but the premise here remains the same- hes gonna get ample opportunity to earn a starting gig. With any player but maybe goalies especially thats all you can really ask for- its on hiom to get it done.

    The Yzerplan!

    I had the privlege of selecting my choice of goalies in the Cossa-Wallstyedt draft. there were arguments against taking Cossa- after all he only had ONE truly elite season (albeit it was a very elite season) but compared to Wallstedt who we saw coming years ago- he seemed like a relative newcomer. The deciding factor to me was Steve Yzerman. He has personal experience building a contender in Tampa Bay and unless Ive missed my marki was at the head when TB drafted wunderkind Andrei Vasilevski in their rebuild. I was confident he could see the raw tools present that make up an elite goalie- the guy you can build a team around- and maybe moreso that he had experience building a legit contender and would sup^port him with a team that could rack up wins. I thgink he saw something in Cossa specificalkly that cause him to go *off the board* a bit and select him ahead of Wallstedt. Weve heard the argument that I trust Team Xs brass more than some fantasy pooler in his moms basement (lol!) and in that case the GM in question is a living legend who just finished rebuiolding an elite cup contender. In fact iof the legends are true the interview portion (aka his personality) was one of the major deciding factors in the selection. if youre losing faith in your gut pick- dont lose faith in Yzermans!!

    Pillars of Defense

    This point goes hand in hand with the p4receding one but I feel it warranbts its own entry. In the much ballyhooed rebuild I referenced in the prior point- Yzerman invested a lot of weighty draft stock in acquiring two absolute pillars on defense in Seider and Edvinsson. I know Seider has struggled a bit by his standards but thats just a drop in the bucket in what should be a long and prodigious career! These arent just skilled dmen though- theyre huge! At six foot four and six foot six respectively theyre behemoth- who also play with a physical edge and see the game in ways few other players can. With them keeping the crease cleared in Detroits future- whomever is startiung will have a significant edge that other goalies can only dream of. In fact Hronek is no slouch either and with their draft-trade history it wouldnt be shocking to see them add even more defensively sound pieces to their D-core.

    Size and Raw Tools

    Its easy to look at how Wallstedt is developing and feel a little bit envious- he looks so poised, disciplined and absolutely locked in. I submit that those are skills that you can learn given the right time, coaching, and practice regiment. You know what you cant learn? Size! At six foot six Cossa stands three inches taller than Wallstedt and is taller than most goaltenders in general by a fair margin! Also when cioting his package of skills one thing scouts point to excitedlky is his ability to *reset* after breaking his stance to go down on a shot. Scrambling back to your feet, getting set in your net, and squaring up to the shooter is absolutely a unique skill set and its especially difficult foir bigger goaltenders. In an odd twist Cossa breaks that mould by not only resetting better than most biug goalies but more qualified analysts than me claim hes better than most. Goalies. Period. So while his stats arent there and he even has the odd meltdown that speaks to a poor inconsistency at thisn point- do keep in mind that his raw tools and size give him a significant edge over a lot of goalies out there. If he can improve his fundamentals and iron out his consistencies hes got something that most of his peers never will. That in itslef does not mean he will succeed- but when you add it to the other factors and the skill present in this first round draft selection then we can see there is still quite a bit to be excited about!

    Competetive Nature

    So this last one might be a divisive one and I think thats ok- well end on a thinker! I would say emotion in general is not a great quality to be present for most goaltenders. I think more often than not goalies should be able to shake off a bad play oir a bad goal and move forward unfettered. Lets call this the UnBinnington mindset. Thats NOT the case with Cossa. Hes got an ego- maybe a tad cocky- and he competes... like CRAZY! I submit that there are a lot of very good goalies who play the game with very little emotion BUT when you get into the top tier of absolutely elite goal;ies- the Haseks, the Roys, the Brodeurs- there is absolutely a competetive fire that blazes hot! hes the kind of guy that fiughts for every shot in practice whose upset if you beat him in a drill. In the short term thatr may be a probvlem but I think in the long run that will be the motivation that drives him to practice longer, to stray at the gym later, to read that extra set of charts the goalie coach sent over. I think in the bigger picture that nature will driuve him to dominate a league like the ECHL, to win the crease in Grand Rapid, to earn his stripes as Detroits goalie of the future. His cockiness worries me a tad if Im being honest but I feel like that combatative natyure balances things out as he strives for the most out of himself in any given situation. When you look at Wallstedts icy demeanor you cant help but be impressed by it and although I wont go as far as toi imply its to his detriment- I cant help but wonder if Cossa cant end up using his competetiveness to his advanmtage down the line as he consistently tries to improve himslef and best the worlds stiffest competition...

    So there you have it- five reasons for optimism! Ill be the first to admit that none of these together or on their own constitute a guarantee but I know for me- I often have to remind myself that its not always smooth sailing when you invest early in a prospect. At times like these it helps me to have an argumennt in place as to why we shouldnt ghet ahead of ourselves. Ive considered pretty reckless ideas like adding a substantiual asset to Cossa to try and get Wallstedt or even bailking on the Cossa train altogther- lol! These are the points I refer to when the hamster is on the wheel so to speak. Imo only writng this bl;oated post () to share them with fellow owners who are going through a rocky stretch. Hopefully it helps. Cheers!

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    Default Re: Cossa- Five Reasons For Optimism!!

    Thanks for the thorough post. I’m feeling a little bit more optimistic already!

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