Eduard Šalé (born 10 March 2005) is a Czech professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

forward for the

Coachella Valley Firebirds The Coachella Valley Firebirds are a professional ice hockey team based in the Coachella Valley. They are members of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL). The Firebirds began play in the 2022–23 AH ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

(AHL) as a prospect for the

Seattle Kraken The Seattle Kraken are a professional ice hockey team based in Seattle. The Kraken compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The t ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL). He was drafted 20th overall by the Kraken in the 2023 NHL entry draft.

Playing career

Šalé played as a youth with hometown club HC Kometa Brno, first appearing as a 13-year-old at the under-16 level. During the 2020–21 season, Šalé having appeared with the under-20 team, he briefly left Brno and made seven appearances at the Finnish under-18 SM-sarja competition with

Ilves Tampereen Ilves, commonly known as Ilves, (; Finnish language, Finnish for "Eurasian lynx, Lynx") is a Finnish professional ice hockey team based in Tampere. They play in the Liiga at the Nokia Arena (Tampere), Nokia Arena. The colors of Ilves, ...

. Returning to Brno, Šalé made his senior professional debut in the

Czech Extraliga The Czech Extraliga () is the highest-level ice hockey league in the Czech Republic. It was created in 1993 following the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia midway through the 1992–93 Czechoslovak Extraliga season (which all Slovak and ...

during the 2021–22 season, finishing with two goals and three assists in 10 regular season games. Eligible for major junior ice hockey in North America, Šalé was selected in the first round, 29th overall, in the 2022 CHL Import Draft by the

Barrie Colts The Barrie Colts are a junior ice hockey team in Ontario Hockey League (OHL), based in Barrie, Ontario, Canada. The Colts play home games at the Sadlon Arena. The Colts joined the OHL in 1995, and previously competed at lower levels of junio ...

. Continuing his tenure with Brno, Šalé, in his first full professional season in 2022–23, managed seven goals and seven assists through 43 regular season games. Touted as a potential first-round pick, he was selected 20th overall by the

in the 2023 NHL entry draft. He was later signed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Kraken on 17 July 2023. Šalé started the 2023–24 season with the Colts, although he was eventually traded to the

Kitchener Rangers The Kitchener Rangers are a major junior ice hockey team based in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Midwest Division of the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. The Rangers have won the J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL ...

International play

Šalé first represented Czech national under-18 team at the 2021 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and in the following year he was recognised as one of the top ranked stars in the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. Šalé won a silver medal with the Czech national junior team at the 2023 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. Šalé won a bronze medal the following year, in a comeback win that saw Team Czechia overcome a 5–2 deficit.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sale, Eduard 2005 births Living people Barrie Colts players Coachella Valley Firebirds players Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Finland Czech ice hockey left wingers Kitchener Rangers players HC Kometa Brno players Ice hockey people from Brno NHL first-round draft picks Seattle Kraken draft picks 21st-century Czech sportsmen