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AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Cossa and Watson to Participate in 2025 AHL All-Star Classic

January 8, 2025 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The American Hockey League on Wednesday announced the 2025 AHL All-Star Rosters presented by FloHockey, with Grand Rapids Griffins goaltender Sebastian Cossa and forward Austin Watson serving as the team's representatives at the 2025 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Spotlight 29 Casino, to be held Feb. 2-3 in Palm Desert, California. They will join their head coach, Dan Watson, who was previously announced as the coach for the Central Division.

Cossa, who is in his second full season with the Griffins, will make his first appearance in the AHL All-Star Classic and the first for a Griffins goalie since Petr Mrazek in 2013. The Hamilton, Ontario, native has a 10-6-3 mark with one shutout through 19 games this season to go along with a 2.30 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage. The 15th overall pick by the Detroit Red Wings in 2021 ranks among the AHL's leaders in minutes played (1,120:42, 8th), games played (T8th), GAA (11th), wins (T7th), and save percentage (T9th).

With a 35-save shutout on Oct. 11 against Milwaukee, Cossa became the first Griffins goalie to achieve an opening-night shutout in 26 years (Ian Gordon, Oct. 6, 1998). The 22-year-old has collected two three-game win streaks this year from Oct. 19-26 and Nov. 8-15 in addition to claiming a three-game point streak from Dec. 14-22 (1-0-2). Last season, Cossa set a franchise record with a 19-game point streak (13-0-6) and tied both the franchise-record home and road point streaks of 13 home games (9-0-4) and 10 road contests (8-0-2). The netminder finished his rookie campaign in 2023-24 ranked among the league leaders in GAA (2.41, T6th), save percentage (.913, T13th), and wins (22, 5th among rookies). Throughout his three-year AHL career, Cossa sports a 33-16-12 ledger with three shutouts, a 2.50 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage in 62 appearances.

Cossa collected his first NHL victory during his debut with the Red Wings on Dec. 9, 2024 at the Buffalo Sabres, earning a 6-5 shootout win behind 12 saves and two stops in the shootout. He became the first netminder in NHL history to win his debut via a shootout in a relief effort. This marks Cossa's second all-star selection as a professional, as he was named to the ECHL All-Star Game in 2023 while with the Toledo Walleye. During his only season with Toledo in 2022-23, Cossa showed a 26-16-1 record during the regular season with a 2.56 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage in 46 games.

Austin Watson, a 13-year veteran, will also make his first AHL All-Star Classic appearance. The Ann Arbor, Michigan, native is tied for first on the roster with 25 points (9-16-25) in 31 games, while also tying for the team lead in assists (16) and power-play goals (4). Watson, who is in his first season as a Griffin, enjoyed a team-high four-game point streak from Dec. 1-8 (2-2-4) and has secured a point in 11 of his past 16 games (7-7-14). The 32-year-old tied his career-high for assists in a game with two on four separate occasions this year and tied his career-best mark of three points on Nov. 15, 2024, against the Chicago Wolves (1-2-3). Prior to this season, Watson had spent his entire AHL career with the Milwaukee Admirals (2010-11; 12-15; 16-17; 18-19) and compiled 132 points (73-59-132) in 234 outings. The 18th overall pick by the Nashville Predators in 2010 logged a career-high 46 points (22-24-46) in 2013-14 and a season later posted a career-best 26 goals.

Watson has spent much of his career in the NHL with 118 points (60-58-118) in 518 regular-season appearances across 11 seasons since 2012-13. He has made stops with Nashville (2012-13; 15-20), the Ottawa Senators (2020-23), Tampa Bay Lightning (2023-24), and Detroit Red Wings (2024-25). Watson had his best NHL campaign in 2017-18 with the Predators when he registered a career-high 19 points (14-5-19) alongside a career-best 14 goals and 123 penalty minutes in 76 games. Watson has also added 19 points (10-9-19) in 45 Stanley Cup Playoff games, reaching the finals in 2017 with Nashville with nine points (4-5-9) in 22 outings.

Dan Watson is the first Griffins coach to achieve an all-star honor since Todd Nelson in 2017 and the fourth head coach in franchise history to coach in an all-star game, joining Nelson, Jeff Blashill (2014), and Bruce Cassidy (2002 AHL, 2001 IHL). This will mark Watson's third career all-star appearance, as he was chosen to coach in the ECHL All-Star Game in both 2017 and 2022 while with the Toledo Walleye.

Fans can purchase their tickets to the 2025 AHL All-Star Classic through cvfirebirds.com. The AHL Skills Competition will take place at Acrisure Arena on Feb. 2 at 9 p.m. EST and the AHL All-Star Challenge will commence on Feb. 3 at 9 p.m. EST.

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