The Seattle Kraken have signed forward Eduard Sale to a three-year, entry-level contract worth $900,000 per season.
The Kraken selected the Czech-born winger with the 20th overall pick back in June.
Sale spent most of the season playing against men in the top Czech league, recording seven goals and 14 points in 43 games. He was a dominant goal scorer against youth competition, with his 89 points in the Czech U-20 league in 2021-22 being the best by a U-17 scorer in league history. No player since the start of the 2010s has ever managed to record 60.
Sale also has significant experience at the international level, helping Czechia win silver at the 2023 World Championship with six points in seven games. He also has 15 points in 11 games at the U-18 World Hockey Championship over two years. The native of Brno, Czechia was selected 29th overall by the Barrie Colts at the 2022 CHL Import Draft, and is expected to make the move over to North America this coming season. That could be with Barrie, or perhaps with Seattle’s AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds.
The Seattle Kraken qualified for the second round of the playoffs for the first time in franchise history after beating the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Colorado Avalanche. Seattle lost to Dallas in the second round, but it still marked a successful sophomore campaign for a team most expected to miss the playoffs.
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