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Red Wings’ Trey Augustine is one of the NHL’s top goaltending prospects

Steven Ellis
Steven Ellis(sellishockey)
Mar 31, 2026, 14:39 EDTUpdated: Mar 31, 2026, 14:40 EDT
Red Wings’ Trey Augustine is one of the NHL’s top goaltending prospects
Credit: Steven Ellis/The Nation Network

Detroit Red Wings prospect Trey Augustine has done his fair share of winning during his career.

Two World Junior golds. Top spot at the 2023 U-18 World Championship. Two Big 10 titles, a pair of top goalie honors and even a tournament MVP trophy. Augustine never won a national title with Michigan State, but he’ll be remembered as one of the best college goalies of his era.

Next up? The NHL.

Augustine’s college career came to a close last weekend, with Michigan State losing 4-3 in overtime to Wisconsin in the Worcester regional. Despite the loss, it was a good weekend for Augustine, who had to be excellent in both outings (including a 41-save campaign against Northeastern) to give MSU a chance.

The former USA Hockey National Team Development Program Star finished his college career with a record of 66-25-7 with nine shutouts and a .922 save percentage. No NCAA goaltender has more wins over the past three years.

The 21-year-old has built quite a reputation for being an absolute beast in recent years. Listed as the No. 3 netminder in Daily Faceoff’s preseason prospect rankings, Augustine’s numbers speak for themselves. Sure, he has always played for good teams. But that can only get you so far. Augustine has had to steal plenty of games over the past few years and has rarely disappointed. He was even one of USA’s goalies at the 2024 World Championship, posting a .929 save percentage through four games as a 19-year-old. He’s considered to be one of the greatest World Junior goalies of all time after being the first keeper in USA Hockey history to lead the team to consecutive gold medals.

And he did that despite being a bit smaller than some scouts liked. At 6-foot-1, Augustine definitely isn’t in the same stratosphere as fellow Red Wings prospect Sebastian Cossa, who stands at a massive 6-foot-6. Cossa has a few years of pro hockey under his belt already and should be full-time with the Red Wings next year. Augustine will need a year or two in Grand Rapids to adjust, and that’s totally fine.

While Augustine is smaller, he makes up for it with his athleticism. He’s one of the best skating goalie prospects in some time, allowing him to smoothly navigate the crease without putting himself out of position too often. Augustine also boasts an incredibly active glove hand, giving you little to shoot at high. He seals the posts well for someone who doesn’t have an extra 3-4 inches to spare.

Two areas he has improved since his draft year: puck-tracking and his play at the top of the crease. Augustine often lost track of the puck behind taller competition. But now, he does a better job of keeping himself positionally square when he can’t see. He has quick enough reflexes to react when he regains sight, too.

Augustine used to play a bit too deep in his crease. But as we saw throughout his junior campaign at MSU, he looked much more comfortable playing at the top of the paint, giving shooters less to shoot at from a distance. When he needs to retreat, he has the footspeed to recover quickly.

One persistent concern moving forward: Augustine has always excelled in highly structured environments – games where he doesn’t have to deal with wild defensive breakdowns. MSU and the USNTDP kept things calm and collected around the crease. The NHL is a different beast, though. But given that Augustine hasn’t struggled for more than a game or two at any time during his career, there’s little reason to be overly concerned.

Moving forward, the Wings will have big decisions to make about the team’s long-term crease situation. Cossa looks great, but so do Michal Postava, Michal Pradel, and Rudy Guimond. That’s some insane goaltending depth, and many would argue Augustine has the highest ceiling. Regardless of what happens, maximizing playing time needs to be the No. 1 goal for Augustine moving forward. And with a good crease situation as it is, they’ve got room to be patient.

Augustine has all the makings of becoming a real impact NHL goaltender. Whether that’s as a starter or in a 1A/1B situation with Cossa, that’s still up for debate. Augustine has played a lot of high-stress hockey already in his career has remained cool as a cucumber the whole time. By the time the Red Wings are consistent playoff contenders, Augustine will be ready. In the meantime, the Griffins are a developmental hotbed right now. He’ll have a chance to compete and make a difference immediately.

Augustine has the numbers and the athleticism teams crave. But the biggest challenges are yet to come.

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