Eduard Sale, unproductive on the ice. Homesick off the ice. Struggling to communicate in English.
That was so 15 months ago.
As the calendar turns to 2025, the Seattle Kraken 2023 1st round draft choice is a national hero in his native Czechia. Sale is thriving as a pro at AHL Coachella Valley. And his English is just fine, thank you. Sale is fulfilling the promise that impressed Kraken scouts in the first place.
Having a mentor in countryman and Firebirds goalie Ales Stezka (recently backing up in Seattle while Joey Daccord recuperated from bumps and bruises) has been an enormous asset. Stezka is 28, while Sale is still two months shy of his 20th birthday.
Even as a pro, Sale met the age requirements to represent Czechia for a third year at the IIHF World Junior Championship, which just concluded in Ottawa.
The 6-foot-1, 170 pound forward from Brno scored the winning goal in two of Czechia’s first three games. Behind his six goals and eight points total in seven games, not to mention a dramatic game-winning shootout score to beat Sweden in the medal round, Sale led his homeland to the 2025 bronze medal.
From the IIHF tournament review: “In the bronze-medal game, (Czechia) made history, winning the longest IIHF shootout ever (28 shots) with an Eduard Sale goal in the 14th round. Sale also set a record by taking five of his team’s shots, and he scored on the last two.”
IIHF Social Media
“It was tough for me,” Sale said. “I had a couple chances in overtime. In a shootout, it was like 50-50, but I wanted to win the game. So it was pressure for me when the Swedish guy scored, and I just had to score too. After I scored, I just knew I would score again. So it was something special.”
“He’s the player you want to have on your team, not against,” Czech netminder Michael Hrabal was quoted by Sportsnet. “He’s a born goal-scorer.” Indeed, Sale’s six tallies tied for second-highest among all players. “The whole tournament he showed how good he is.”
Journalists who follow junior hockey full time agree. “Sale wasn’t dominant from shift to shift, but he always found a way to show up when it mattered,” wrote Tony Ferrari in The Hockey News. “Sale has been the embodiment of Czech junior hockey for a few years now, and he showed up when it mattered most. With a silver and two bronze medals to his name, Sale will be one of the most respected Czech junior players in history.”
“It’s incredible,” Sale said. “It started against Canada. We beat them, and this is the last game against Sweden. We know they are a great team. We are happy we have done this, and we have another medal.”
Incredible also sums up the reviews of Sale’s tournament from two other well-connected writers. Scott Wheeler of The Athletic said, “He looked dynamic offensively for much of the tournament and made some big plays. Sale didn’t disappear like he has in the past at times internationally. There were still some moments of careless/turning pucks over, though. But his skill level, his finesse on the puck and that game-breaking quality all flashed.”
Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff wrote, “The Czechs weren’t making the medal round without Sale. He had points in every round-robin game and scored against Canada in the quarterfinal. He was shut down against the Americans, but he had 24 shots over a three-game span against Slovakia, Sweden and Canada. Sale was in the all-star team conversation all tournament long for how important he was to the Czechs as their No. 1 playdriver.”
Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports
This year, Sale not only played, he was team captain. “He’s a true leader, and he makes everyone around him better,” Czechia coach Patrik Augusta said to NHL.com.
“I like the way he acts, not only on the ice and off the ice, how he acts on the bench, and he’s a big part of this team. I told him he had a chance to be the only Czech player to win three medals in a row,” Augusta said. “And now maybe they can build him a statue.”
Great idea, but statue builders need to make sure they leave space on the plaque for future accolades. “It’s a great dot on his young career,” goalie Hrabal said of the Kraken prospect. “Three medals out of three world juniors is incredible. The NHL is waiting for him.”