Seattle draftee & Barrie Colts forward Eduard Sale has been finding more success on international ice at the World Juniors, as opposed to his struggles on North American ice.
Czech forward Eduard Sale is representing Czechia at the World Juniors in Sweden, as they are off to the Bronze Medal game versus Finland.
Sale was drafted by the Seattle Kraken in 2023, and is amid his first season playing in North America — with the Barrie Colts.
He hasn't shocked the OHL as a lot of people thought he would, and he has had some struggles adapting to the North American game. He has been getting lots of ice time and opportunities with the Colts, but he hasn't quite found his groove.
While playing in Sweden and representing Czechia at the World Juniors, things have been different. Sale found his groove as soon as he stepped back onto international ice. So what changed?
Sale's game is heavily influenced by the bigger ice in Europe, and he is able to generate more offence with the extra room.
On bigger international ice, Sale utilizes the outside to cut into the inside. All of Sale's goals in this tournament have come from a similar area — the low slot. He uses the outside when initially entering the puck into the zone, but the extra room gives him space to cut into the middle and create. It also gives him more room to unleash his cannon of a release.
His shot is one of his biggest assets. In Ontario with the Barrie Colts, he isn't able to get it off as often because he has less room. Once he can adapt and get his shot off quicker before pressure comes onto him, he will be a shooting threat.
This goal with Barrie from this season is a fine example of that. Once Sale can speed up his shot release more often, he will find the back of the net more:
The Kraken prospect still has some growing and developing to do, but this just ensures why it was so important to get Sale to the CHL this season. The sooner he can adapt his game to the tighter ice, the sooner Sale will be playing in the NHL.
Hopefully for Sale and the Colts, gaining confidence at the World Juniors will flip a switch in his head when he hits Canadian ice again, and allow him to play one step quicker.