Monthly Report For Capitals Prospects In The CHL — January, 2025: Trades of Cristall And Mateiko And Protas On Fire With The Spitfires


Photo: Prince George Cougars

The Canadian Junior Hockey Leagues (CHL) continued play after the New Year. Here is the monthly summary of how each of the Washington Capitals’ prospects playing in the CHL fared for the month of January.

The Capitals currently have six prospects playing in CHL: the Western Hockey League (WHL), the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJML). The prospects in those leagues are defenseman Cam Allen, left-wing Andrew Cristall, left-wing Eriks Mateiko, right-wing Terik Parascak, right-wing Ilya Protas, and center Patrick Thomas. The one Capitals prospect playing in the USHL in the United States, Miroslav Satan, will also be included in this summary.

Back in December, one Capitals prospect, Cam Allen, was traded to the London Knights. This month, there were two trades of Capitals prospects, one involving Eriks Mateiko and the other involving Andrew Cristall. Similar to the trade of Cam Allen, both Mateiko and Cristall were traded to teams higher in their league standings.

CAM ALLEN (D) – 19 – DRAFTED 2023 (Fifth Round, #136 Overall)
Teams: London Knights – League: Ontario Hockey League (OHL)

Back in December, Allen’s original team, the Guelph Storm, traded him to the London Knights, a team at the top of their Conference. January was Allen’s first full month with his new team. He recorded at least one point in the Knights’ first four games in January, continuing a nine-game point streak that started in December. His points were more sporadic for the rest of the month.

In a 3-2 overtime loss to the Sarnia Sting on January 1, Allen had the secondary assist on the team’s second goal, which came on the power play at 18:15. This goal tied the game at 2-2, which eventually went to overtime.

On January 3 in a 9-4 win over the Niagara ice Dogs, Allen had the only assist on the Knights’ second goal that came at 9:09 during the first period and put the Knights up 2-0.

The London Knights beat the Windsor Spitfires 5-1 on January 10. In that game, Allen had two assists. He had the primary assist on the Knights first goal which was scored at 5:00 into the second period and put the team up 1-0.

He had the secondary assist on the Knights’ second goal, which came at 9:00 during the second period. It put the Knights up 2-1 and held up as the game-winner.

On January 11, in a 6-4 win over the Owen Sound Attack, Allen scored the game-winning goal at 8:48 during the third period. It broke a 4-4 tie. This was Allen’s tenth goal of the season.

His point streak ended on January 17th. He did not record any goals or assists until January 21in a 5-2 loss to the Kitchener Rangers. In that game, he had a secondary assist on the team’s second goal, which came in the second period to tie the game at 2-2.

January 24 was another two-assist game for Allen as the Knights beat the Sudbury Wolvers 5-2. He assisted on the team’s first and third goals, the former which was scored at 6:09 of the second period to put the Knights up 1-0, and the latter, which was scored at 18:26 of the second period to put the team up 3-2 and was the game-winner.

On January 26 in a 7-3 win over the Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds, Allen scored a goal and recorded an assist. His assist was a secondary assist on the team’s first goal, which occurred at 12:34 of the first period.

His goal was the team’s second goal at 8:38 which came in the second period and tied the game at 1-1. Allen was selected as the Second Star of the game.

Allen played in 11 games in January. He scored two goals and recorded eight assists, getting ten points for the month. He served 16 penalty minutes during the month.

His season totals through January 31, including his time with both the Guelph Storm and his current team, the London Knights, were 42 games played, 11 goals, and 31 assists. Through January 31, he has made 131 shots on goal and had 45 penalty minutes. He is +16 in Plus/Minus.

As of January 31, the London Knights had a 39-7-1-0 record and were in first place in the Midwest Division of the Western Conference in the OHL. They were very close to clinching a playoff spot for the 2024 OHL playoffs.

(Note: Allen was arrested for drunk driving and faces several related charges. He goes to trial in March. He has been suspended, indefinitely.)

ANDREW CRISTALL (LW) – 19 – DRAFTED 2023 (Second Round, 40th Overall)
Team: Kelowna Rockets/Spokane Chiefs – League: Western Hockey League (WHL)

Photo: Spokane Chiefs

Cristall played in two games with the Kelowna Rockets in January. Since the Rockets were not having a great year, they traded Cristall to the Spokane Chiefs, a team near the top of the standings, on January 8 for some younger players.

On January 3, Cristall scored two goals and recorded one assist during a 6-4 victory against the Kamloops Blazers. He scored his first goal at 0:24 into the first period when he deflected a shot past the Blazers’ goaltender and put the Rockets up 1-0.

Cristall scored his second goal of the game at 13:43 into the second period. This put the Rockets ahead 2-0. The two goals were Cristall’s 25th and 26th goals of the season in 27 games. He also recorded an assist on an empty net goal at 19:24 in the third period.

These would be his last three points with Kelowna as they traded him to the Spokane Chiefs on January 8. After the trade, Cristall posted a farewell note to his former team on Instagram, “Thank you Kelowna for the best 4 years of my life. Appreciate everyone who has helped along the way!!”

Cristall debuted with Spokane on January 10 and went pointless that day but then on January 12 during a 12-2 win against the Wenatchee Wild, Cristall went wild on offense as he scored a hat trick and recorded four assists.

He scored the team’s first goal at 6:05 during a first-period power play.

His second goal put the team ahead 7-2 and occurred at 17:38 while on a power play of a major penalty for the Wild.

He finished the hat trick at 6:18 of the third period, which put the Chiefs up 11-2.

It was the first time that two members of the team had scored hat tricks since 11/15/2016,

On January 17, in a 5-2 win over Prince George, Cristall recorded two assists and was selected as the Third Star of the Game. This game was Cristall’s first home game with Spokane.

He assisted on Spokane’s first goal at 0.38 in first period which put the Chiefs up 1-0.

He also assisted on the Chiefs’ third goal, at 13:09 of the first period which came on the power play and put them ahead 3-0. This particular goal turned out to be the game-winner. After the game, Cristall participated in a post-game press conference.

On January 18, he contributed two assists to first-period goals during a 4-2 loss against the Lethbridge Hurricanes. He assisted on Spokane’s first goal at 2:57 which put the Chiefs up 1-0. His second assist of the game was on his team’s second goal at 18:08, which put the Chiefs up 2-1. Unfortunately, the Hurricanes scored three unanswered goals and beat Spokane.

On January 22, he assisted on the game-winning goal in a 3-2 win over Everett Silvertips. The goal came at 19:06 of the second period on a power play.

Cristall assisted on the first goal of a 3-2 loss to Medicine Hat Tigers on January 24. Cristall carried the puck into the zone and played give-and-go before getting decked as he flicked it to a teammate for the close-in one-timer which came at 31 seconds into the game. For Cristall it was his 13th assist in his past six games. The Chiefs increased their lead to 2-0 early in the third period but then gave up three unanswered goals to lose.

Cristall earned another assist on January 31 in a 5-1 win against Victoria Royals. The goal came on the power play at 5:56 of the second period when Cristall carried the puck down the left wall and below the goal line before sliding it to a teammate for the goal.

In January, Cristall played in 10 games, two games with Kelowna and the remaining eight with Spokane. He scored seven goals and recorded 15 assists. He had three multi-goal games in the month and just two games with no goals or assists. His only two pointless games were his last one with Kelowna and his first with Spokane. He ended the month with a seven-game point streak with at least one goal or one assist and while he did not have any goals in his last five games for the month, he recorded at least one assist.

Cristall played 36 games for the season through January 31, scoring 31 goals and recording 48 assists for 79 points. He is also +29. He ended January in second place in the WHL in points to Gavin McKenna and eighth in assists. He ranked fifth in goals.

ERIKS MATEIKO (LW) – 19 – DRAFTED 2024 (Third Round, 90th Overall)
Team: St John Sea Dogs/Rimouski Oceanic – League: QMJHL

Mateiko was clearly Latvia’s best player in the IIHF World Junior Championships as Latvia advanced to the quarterfinal round of the World Juniors and his offense almost led them, single-handedly. After Latvia was eliminated, he never again played for the St. John’s Sea Dogs as they traded him to Rimouski Oceanic, the team hosting the Memorial Cup this season. Rimouski held him out of the lineup until January 15 to allow him time to rest from the World Junior Championships.

He scored his first goal with Rimouski on January 17 during a 3-1 win over the Shawinigan Cataractes. Mateiko scored the team’s second goal at 3:10 of the second period, putting Oceanic up 2-1 and was the game-winning goal. He was selected as the Second Star of the game.

On January 24, Mateiko scored two goals when Rimouski played his old team, the St. John Sea Dogs, in a 7-3 win. He was selected as Third Star of the Game for his performance. His first goal came at 16:40 of the first period, putting the team up, 3-1.

Mateiko added an empty net goal at 19:21 of the third period which put the team up 7-3, which was the final score.

Mateiko had another two-goal game on January 25, a 5-3 win over Moncton Wildcats. His first goal came at 11:02 of the first period which put Rimouski up 2-0. He added his second goal at 13:31 of the third period which put the team up 5-2 and was an insurance goal.

On January 30, in a 4-1 win against Victoriaville Tigres, Mateiko had the secondary assist on the game-winning goal scored at 4:06 during the second period.

He had two assists on January 31, during a 3-2 win against Sherbrooke Phoenix. His first assist was a secondary assist on a goal scored at 4:06 of the second period. That goal put Oceanic up 2-1. His second assist came on a goal scored at 10:51 of the second period. This goal put Oceanic up 3-1 and was ultimately the game-winner. Mateiko was selected as the second Star of the Game.

Mateiko played in eight games for the Rimouski Oceanic as they held him out until January 15 to rest up from the World Junior Championship. He scored 5 goals and recorded 3 assists during January. For the season through January 31, Mateiko played in 31 games, 23 with the St. Johns Seadogs before the trade and 8 after the trade. He scored 19 goals and recorded 8 assists for 27 points overall.

TERIK PARASCAK (LW) – 18 – DRAFTED 2024 (First Round, 17th Overall)
Team: Prince George Cougars – League: Western Hockey League (WHL)

Photo: Prince George Cougars

Parascak was more of a playmaker than a goal-scorer in January, with his assists topping his goals totals, but still averaged more than a point per game.

He recorded two primary assists in a 3-0 win over the Seattle Thunderbirds on January 4. His first assist came at 4:56 during the third period, putting the Cougars ahead 2-0.

His second assist came at 18:45 of the third period and put the Cougars ahead 3-0, which was the final score.

In a 4-2 win over Vancouver Giants on January 7, Parascak assisted on the game’s first goal at 8:47 of the first period, putting the Cougars up 1-0.

The Cougars faced the Vancouver Giants the next day, January 8, this time beating them 6-5 in a come-from-behind victory. Parascak had late-game heroics in the last two minutes of the game. While the Cougars were on a power play and had pulled the goaltender, creating a 6-on-4 situation, he scored a clutch goal at 18:17 during the third period to tie the score at 5-5.

Then he had the primary assist on the game-winning goal at 19:17 in the third period.

On January 17, in a 5-2 loss to Spokane Chiefs, Parascak beat the Chiefs’ goaltender five-hole in a second-period power play. This goal occurred at 8:34 and was the Cougars’ first goal when they were down 3-0. It was Parascak’s 20th goal of the season. This loss was the Cougars’ third loss in succession. On the negative side of the ledger, Parascak earned a 10-minute misconduct penalty during the third period.

January 18 was another loss for the Cougars, a 4-1 loss against the Everett Silvertips. Parascak scored the only goal for the Cougars when he buried a rebound at 17:43 during the first period. That goal tied the game at 1-1 but that was the only offense the Cougars mustered in that game.

During a 3-2 win over Brandon Wheat Kings on January 24, which snapped a four-game losing streak for the Cougars, Parascak recorded two third-period assists. He made a perfect pass to a teammate who scored at 5:44 during the third period which tied the game at 2-2.

He also had the secondary assist on the game-winner which came on the power play at 7:53.

Parascak scored a goal and recorded two assists during an 8-3 win against Swift Current Broncos on January 28. His efforts earned him the Third Star of the Game.

He had the secondary assist on the team’s first goal at 0:38 into the first period which put the Cougars up 1-0.

During the second period, Parascak dazzled with an end-to-end rush, finishing with a slick wraparound for his 21st goal of the season at 1:51 during the second period which put the Cougars ahead 4-3. This goal held up as the game-winner.

He also contributed a secondary assist on Prince George’s fifth goal at 12:06 during the second period, putting the team up 5-3.

On January 31, Parascak recorded three assists during a 4-3 win over Tri City Americans and was selected as First Star of the Game.

His first assist came on a power play goal at 10:07 during the first period which put the Cougars ahead 1-0.

His second assist came on a goal scored at 19:39 during the first period, which put the Cougars up 2-1.

His third assist was on a goal scored at 6:16 during the third period and put the team up 4-2. It held up as the game-winner.

Parascak played in 12 games during January, scoring four goals and recording 11 assists for 15 points. He had four pointless games for the month and five multi-point games.

He played in 43 games this season, scoring 21 goals and recording 41 assists for 62 points overall. He is +10. He ranks first for the Cougars in assists, is tied for first overall points, and is fifth in goals scored.

As of January 31, the Cougars had compiled a record of 28-15-3-2 in 47 games and ranked fourth in the Western Conference of the Western Hockey League.

ILYA PROTAS (LW) – 18 – DRAFTED 2024 (Third Round, 90th Overall)
Team: Windsor Spitfires – League: Ontario Hockey League (OHL)

Photo: Windsor Spitfires

In January, Protas could be described as a Spitfire on fire as he scored two hat tricks and his goal total for the month exceeded the number of games he played. He usually lined up as the first-line center but also has lined up as a top-line winger.

On January 2, in a 9-5 victory over the Guelph Storm, he scored the first two goals for Windsor during the first period, one at 2:56 and the other at 5:44. The second goal was on a two-man advantage power play.

He completed the hat trick at 15:30 during the first period as the Spitfires took a 4-0 lead. He even scored another goal for good measure, scoring at 9:41 of the third period. The goal put the Spitfires ahead 8-5. He had the secondary assist on the Spitfires’ last goal which came at 15:23 of the third period and put the Spitfires up 9-5, which was the final score. Protas was named the First Star of the Game.

In a 5-1 loss to London Knights on January 10, Protas scored the Spitfires’ only goal at 14:08 on a second-period power play which tied the game at 1-1.

The next day, January 11, Protas scored his second hat trick of the month in a wild 8-6 win against Flint Firebirds.

Protas scored his first goal as part of a four-goal outburst for his team in the first period, with his goal coming at 17:07 and putting the Spitfires up 4-0. For good measure, he assisted on the team’s third goal on a power play at 8:40.

He scored his second goal at 16:48 in the third period, an unassisted goal, that put the Spitfires up 7-5. It ultimately was the game-winner. He completed the hat trick with an empty net goal which came at 18:38 of the third period. He was selected as the First Star of the Game for his hat trick and two assists.

On January 16 in a 6-2 win over Sudbury Wolves, Protas scored a goal and recorded three assists and was selected as Second Star of the game.

Protas received a pass and then passed to a streaking teammate who scored at 1:08 to put the Spitfires up 1-0.

Protas retrieved the puck and scored a goal at 12:18 during the first period, putting Windsor up 2-0. He contributed another assist on a power play goal at 19:36 that put the Spitfires up 4-1.

Protas missed the games on January 18 and 19 due to illness as the decimated Spitfires lost both those games.

Protas returned to the Spitfires’ lineup on January 24, a 4-3 overtime win over the Sarnia Sting. In that game, Protas had a secondary assist on a goal at 10:24 during the second period which put the Spitfires up 1-0.

In a 5-2 win against Brampton on January 26, Protas scored two goals and was selected as the Third Star of the Game.  He scored a short-handed goal at 0:53 during the third period which put the Spitfires up 3-2 which was ultimately the game-winner.

He added a power-play goal at 17:43 during the third period which put the team up 5-2 and was the final score.

On January 30, during a 5-1 loss to Flint Firebirds, Protas passed to a teammate who scored from the point to put the Spitfires up 1-0 at 6:42 during a power play. However, Flint scored five unanswered goals to win.

For January, Protas played in nine games, scoring 11 goals and recording 11 assists for 22 points total. He missed two games due to illness. He had only one game, January 5, with neither a goal nor an assist. He had two two-goal games, one three-goal game, and one four-goal game. He had six multi-point games.

For the season through January 31, Protas played in 42 games, scoring 32 goals and recording 43 assists for 75 points overall.

In team statistics, Protas has been battling it out with Liam Greentree for the lead in goals, assists, and total points.

The Spitfires ended January in first place in the West Division of the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League, with a record of 33-11-2-1 and leading the division by nearly 20 points.

PATRICK THOMAS (C) – 20 – DRAFTED 2023 (Fourth Round, #104 Overall)
Team: Brantford Bulldogs    League: Ontario Hockey League (OHL)

Photo: Brantford Bulldogs

Thomas has generally been more of a playmaker than a goal-scorer throughout his junior hockey career. However, he was very productive on the goal-scoring front in January.

He was off to a slow start in January, recording no goals and no assists in Brantford’s first two games that month. But then on January 5, he scored a goal and recorded an assist,  resulting in him getting selected as the Second Star of the game, in a 4-3 overtime win over the Ottawa 67’s.

He scored his goal on a wrist shot at 9:41 during the first period, putting the Bulldogs up 1-0.

Thomas also assisted on the game-winning goal in overtime at 1:49 in the extra period.

During a 5-2 win against the Brantford Bulldogs on January 8, he recorded two assists. His first assist came at 16:50 during the first period when he delivered a pass to a teammate who scored and put the Bulldogs up 3-0. That goal held up as the game-winning goal. His second assist came at 7:40 into the third period which put the Bulldogs up 5-2, the final score.

On January 11, he had a goal and assist during a 5-4 shootout win against the Peterborough Petes. He also scored the only goal in the shootout, sealing the win. His efforts earned him the First Star of the Game. His assist was on the goal scored at 0:19 during the first period which put the Bulldogs up 1-0. This assist also allowed Thomas to set the Bulldogs’ record for career assists.

Thomas scored a power-play goal at 9:12 during the third period which tied the game at 4-4.

The game proceeded to overtime with nobody scoring in the overtime period. Thus, it went to the shootout where he was the only shooter on either team to score. Thus, the Bulldogs won 5-4.

January 17 was another win in extra time against the Oshawa Generals, this time 5-4 in Overtime, and featured another goal for Thomas. This time, Thomas scored on the power play at 11:54 during the third period to put the Bulldogs up 4-3.

Thomas added to his consecutive goal-scoring streak during a 5-3 win against the Oshawa Generals on January 18. He also has two assists and was selected as the Second Star of the game.

His first assist was the secondary assist that came on a goal scored at 8:39 during the first period which put the Bulldogs up 1-0. His second assist came on the power play at 14:14 during the third period which put the team up 3-1.

Thomas hopped onto the ice and batted the puck toward the empty net at 19:21 during the third period. This put the team up 4-2. It ended up as the game-winner.

On January 22, Brantford beat Niagara Ice Dogs 6-2 in a game where Thomas set an individual scoring record for the Bulldogs by scoring one goal and recording five assists for six points overall. He was selected as the First Star of the Game. His first three assists were secondary assists on the team’s first three goals, the first coming at 3:00 during the first period, the second coming at 7:05 during the second period on the power play, and the third coming at 9:03, also during the second period. These three goals put Brantford up 3-0. He then had the primary assist on a short-handed goal at 13:07 during the second period for his fourth assist, putting the Bulldogs up 4-0.

Less than five minutes later, Thomas scored a power-play goal at 17:59 that put the Bulldogs up 5-0.

He added one more assist on a goal scored at 1:23 during the third period, putting the Bulldogs up 6-0.

During a 3-2 win over the North Bay Battalion on January 30, Thomas earned an assist on the Bulldogs’ first goal that occurred at 4:13 during the first period which put them ahead 1-0.

Thomas and the Bulldogs ended January well with a 6-4 win over the Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds where Thomas had two goals and one assist and was selected as the First Star of the Month.

He recorded an assist on the goal at 4:06 that put the Bulldogs up 1-0 when he made a pass from the dot to the player who scored.

He then scored at 15:40 on a first-period power play after a tic-tac-toe sequence which put the Bulldogs up 2-0.

He added another goal at 0:44 during the third period while the Bulldogs were on the power play which put them up 4-2.

Thomas was selected as OHL Performer of the Night.

Thomas played in 13 games in January, scoring 7 goals and recording 14 assists for 21 points overall. He had one multi-goal game and three multi-assist games.

His totals for the season through January 31 are 22 goals and 49 assists for 71 points in 48 games. He ranks third on the Bulldogs for goals, first in assists, and second in overall points. As of January 31, he was tied for first place in the OHL for assists.

Through January 31, Brantford had a 29-16-4-0 record and is in second place out of five teams in the East Division of the Eastern Conference. They are in a close battle with the Kingston Frontenacs and the Oshawa Generals for the division lead.

MIROSLAV SATAN (C) – 18 – DRAFTED 2024 (Sixth Round, 212th Overall)
Team: Sioux Falls Stampede/Omaha Lancers   League: United States Hockey League (USHL)

Satan was a member of Team Slovakia in the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championships. He was injured on December 30 on a hit from behind and could not play for the remainder of the tournament.

On January 27, Satan was traded to the Omaha Lancers. He played in just two games during January, one before the trade on January 24 and one on January 31 after the trade. He did not score any goals or assists during January.

Through January 31, he has played 21 games this season, scoring two goals and recording 1 assist, with all points recorded for the Stampede. He has had 21 shots on goal for the season.  He has typically been the center on the fourth line.

By Diane Doyle





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