Sale Continues Strong Play on Day Two at Hlinka Gretzky Cup
Eduard Sale in on an early roll to start his 2023 NHL Draft charge.
Sale continued his strong play for Czechia on Day 2 of the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, scoring three goals and adding an assist en route to a 7-2 win over Germany. Sale, who was also FCHockey’s second star in the tournament’s opening day, has pushed his totals to four points (three goals, one assist) — one more point than he had in four tournament games in 2021.
He wasn’t the only one who had a day.
Two standouts came from Finland where Emil Jarventie and goaltender Eemil Vinni were at the top of their game against Team USA. Jarventie helped on offense by providing one goal and two beautiful assists, and Vinni shut the door on the Americans and made some key saves during the game, stopping 30 or 31 shots directed at him to help lift the Finns to a 4-1 win.
Otto Stenberg was undeniable for Sweden in their 4-1 win against Slovakia, scoring twice — including an empty-netter — and adding a single helper for a three-point effort.
3rd Star: Eemil Vinni – Finland
Vinni did not disappoint in net against the fast-paced Americans. He was the wall that helped Finland gain confidence to secure the win. The goalie looked big and composed in net, and handled the rebounds better than prior games this past season and really sealed the win for his club.
“The Finns looked like a completely different team with Vinni between the pipes as you could sense the confidence he provided for the group,” FCHockey scout Donesh Mazloum said. “When the Americans were pushing in the third, Vinni was there to close the door and he looked cool as a cucumber doing it.”
2nd Star: Emil Jarventie – Finland
Jarventie also put up a nice performance on Day Two against the American squad, and was flying all over the ice the entire game. His energy seemed to rub off on the rest of the team as they seemed to outmatch Team USA in all three zones of the ice. The young Finn displayed great edges and transitions throughout the game and was able to use his speed and deception to free up lanes and make some beautiful cross ice pass assists — two of them, in fact.
“At his best, Jarventie is untouchable with possession,” Mazloum said. “He has a lethal combo of blistering pace and the ability to stickhandle in a phone booth. He is a touch undersized, but his edgework and low center of gravity make him surprisingly difficult to move.”
Emil Järventie puts the finishing touches on a gorgeous Finnish set up. What a play by Arttu Alasiurua my goodness. 1-1 #HlinkaGretzkyCup pic.twitter.com/QFl4eXEKcc
— Spoked Z (@SpokedZ) August 1, 2022
1st Star: Eduard Sale – Czechia
Sale had a strong first day at the tournament where he tallied the final shootout goal to secure the 4-3 win against Finland yesterday. On the tournament’s second day, Sale was very noticeable on the ice against Germany and opened the scoring in the first period, and followed up with an impressive second period where he posted two goals and added a pretty one-touch pass assist. The 6-foot-1 forward displayed the skill and finesse during his first two games that looks to have him selected early in the first round of this upcoming stacked 2023 draft.
“Sale looked dangerous all game long,” FCHockey scout Wige Karle said. “He controls the pace of the game so well and with confidence.”
Btw Eduard Šalé scored that obscene hat trick goal in the middle of me tweeting the video of his second goal.
So here is his second goal from earlier #HlinkaGretzkyCup #2023NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/ueL404yYuq
— Spoked Z (@SpokedZ) August 2, 2022
DAY ONE: WHITELAW SHINES ON DAY ONE OF HLINKA GRETZKY CUP
DAY TWO: SALE CONTINUES STRONG PLAY ON DAY TWO AT HLINKA-GRETZKY CUP