Andrew Cristall: 2024 Annual Review And Forecast


Next up in our 2024 Washington Capitals annual prospect review and forecast series is Andrew Cristall, a 19-year-old left-winger for the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League (WHL). (You can access all of our Capitals Prospect Reports and player analysis on our “Prospects” page or right here.)

VITALS

The Washington Capitals selected Cristall from the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets in the 2nd round (40th overall pick) of the 2023 NHL Draft. Cristall, who turned 19 in February, is listed at 5’10″ and 174 pounds. He signed an entry-level contract with the Capitals, which will begin after he starts his professional hockey career.

CAREER SUMMARY

Before playing junior hockey, Cristall played at St. George’s Prep School. He was named team captain of the U15 squad in his sophomore year and led the team with 80 points (43 goals, 37 assists) in just 27 games.

During the 2022-23 season, the left-winger had a very strong draft season, with 95 points (39 goals, 56 assists) in 54 games, which led the Kelowna Rockets and was sixth in the WHL. The Vancouver native was also fourth in the league with 1.76 points per game, only trailing Bedard in that category among 2023 draftees. He also missed 14 games due to an injury.

Cristall had another strong season with Kelowna in 2023-24, as he scored a career-high 40 goals with 71 assists for 111 points. He ranked first in assists and points for the team and was second in goals only to Tig Iginla. He was fifth in assists for the Western Hockey League, as a whole. He has been one of the alternate captains on Kelowna this season.

2023-2024 MONTH-BY-MONTH RECAP AND TREND ANALYSIS

The following is a compilation of our month-by-month prospect reports for Andrew Cristall for the 2023-2024 season. You can find all monthly prospect reports on our “Prospects” page in the top menu.

October

Cristall was very productive on the goal-scoring and assist-generating front from the start. In the 12 games played during the month of October, he either scored a goal or recorded an assist in ten of them. He had two goals and three assists in a 9-7 loss against the Victoria Giants on October 9 and had two goals on October 27 in an 8-5 loss against the Spokane Chiefs.

Cristall had two separate streaks where he scored goals in three consecutive games, one running from October 9 through October 13 and the other running from October 21 through October 27. He had six games where he had multiple assists. He had a nine-game streak where he recorded at least one point that ran from October 7 through October 27. He was named WHL Player of the Week for the week ending October 22 and was considered the CHL Third Star of the Day on October 27.

His production for October totaled nine goals and 16 assists. Until going pointless in the team’s last game of the month, he had recorded points in nine straight games.

November

Cristall missed time during November due to an upper-body injury but performed well when in the lineup. He scored a goal on November 3 in a 2-1 loss against the Victoria Royals and had assists in each of the games on November 4, November 7, and November 13, but missed the team’s game on November 10.

Cristall returned for their game on November 13 but left midway through the game and did not return. On November 7, the assist he recorded was his 200th WHL point. However, he left that game after being hit by the puck near the net but returned to the game for the final minutes of the third period.

Cristall missed the next four games with an upper-body injury, likely originally incurred on November 7 and aggravated on November 13. It was clear that the Rockets missed Cristall’s presence in the lineup as they lost all four of those games.

When he returned on November 26, he scored two goals and recorded an assist in a 4-2 win against the Seattle Thunderbirds and was voted first star of the game. His first goal at 12:44 during the second period proved to be the game-winner.

Cristall continued his heroics on November 29 with a goal and two assists in an overtime win against the Wenatchee Wild and was voted third star of the game.

During November, he played in six games, scoring four goals and recording six assists.

December

December was an amazing month for Cristall. As the Kelowna Rockets Twitter account posted on social media, “It’s Andrew Cristall’s world, we’re just living in it.”

He started the month by scoring a goal and recording three assists in a 4-0 win against the Vancouver Giants on December 1 and thus, was voted the first star of the game.

On December 12, he scored both goals in a 2-1 win over the Moose Jaw Warriors and was once again voted as the first star of the game.

On December 16, he recorded three primary assists in a 5-4 win in overtime and was voted third star of the game. He closed the month’s schedule by getting a hat trick and an assist in a wild 7-6 victory against the Calgary Hitman. His last goal in the game was the game-winner and he was voted third star of the game.

Cristall scored at least one goal or recorded at least one assist in all 10 of the games in which he played in December with his last pointless game occurring back on October 28. He now has a 16-consecutive game streak of recording at least one point and has six-game streak of recording at least one assist.

For December, he played in ten games, scoring seven goals and recording 15 assists for 22 points overall. Despite his heroics in December, Canada still did not choose him for their World Junior squad.

January

On January 5, he had three assists in a 4-3 win against the Edmonton Oil Kings, assisting on each of the team’s first three goals. He scored the team’s first goal in a 6-3 loss to the Wenatchee Wild on January 6.

Cristall scored two goals and recorded an assist in a 5-2 win against the Seattle Thunderbirds on January 10 and was voted first star of the game for his efforts.

Cristall scored the first goal in a 5-2 loss against the Prince George Cougars on January 12. The next day, he had two assists in a 3-2 shootout win against Prince George, as he assisted on both of his team’s goals. He scored on a penalty shot for the team’s first goal near the end of the third period during a 5-4 loss against the Portland Winterhawks on January 17.

Cristall scored one goal and recorded one assist during a 5-2 victory against the Vancouver Giants on Jan 19. His assist came on the game-winning goal that was scored at 11:52 during the third quarter. He was voted the second star of the game.

Cristall’s point streak ended in the Rockets’ 4-2 loss against the Vancouver Giants on January 21, a game where he was -2. This ended a 23-game streak where he had obtained at least one point from either a goal or an assist. He had recorded at least one point in the first seven games in January before the streak ended. He returned to the scoresheet on January 26 when he scored the team’s first goal and assisted on the second goal during a 4-3 overtime loss against the Kamloops Blazers.

Cristall closed out January with his 50th assist of the season on the team’s second goal against the Portland Winterhawks, as Kelowna broke a four-game losing streak by winning 4-3.

During January, Cristall played in eleven games, scoring seven goals and recording 11 assists for 22 points overall.

February

Andrew Cristall did not have goals in his first three games during February. However, he had one assist in each of his team’s games against the Spokane Chiefs on February 4 (an 8-5 loss) and against the Victoria Royals on February 7 (a 2-0 win). He assisted on a power play goal scored by Tig Iginla.

Cristall scored his first goal for the month on February 9th in a 6-3 victory over the Kamloops Blazers and got an assist on a shorthanded goal.

On February 10, Cristall scored the first goal for Kelowna and assisted on the team’s second goal in a 7-3 loss to Kamloops. His goal was at 9:43 in the first period and tied the score at 1-1. He assisted on a power play goal at 13:31 during the first period which put the team up 2-1, a lead they could not hold. He was voted the third star of the game.

On February 13, Cristall scored the first goal of the game in a 4-2 loss to the Spokane Chiefs. He was voted the third star of the game. This goal was the 100th in his junior hockey career.

Andrew Cristall: The Milestone Maker | RocketFAN

Cristall assisted on the team’s second goal in each of their consecutive 3-2 losses to the Victoria Royals on February 16 and 17.

On February 23, he scored a natural hat trick against the Vancouver Giants in a 4-1 win. He was voted the first star of the game. All three of his goals occurred during the second period.

iSight Optometry Recap: Cristall’s natural hat-trick pushes Rockets past Giants – Kelowna Rockets (chl.ca)

For February, Cristall played in 11 games, scored six goals, and recorded 13 assists for 19 points overall. His overall statistics for the season include 34 goals and 56 assists for 90 points in 52 games.

March

Cristall started March very well, with two assists during a 4-3 overtime win against the Vancouver Giants on March 1. His first assist was on the team’s second goal which occurred on a power play at 9:23 during the first period. His second assist was on the game-winning goal in overtime at 3:33.

The next day, March 2, Cristall scored a goal and recorded an assist during a 4-1 victory against the Tri-City Americans. His goal came on a power play at 18:47 during the first period. He was elected the second star of the game for his performance.

The game of March 8 gave a new and much more positive meaning to the term “Kristallnacht”, a term with very somber associations. In that game, Andrew Cristall scored two goals and recorded five assists in a 9-1 win over the Kamloops Blazers. His first goal of the game and fifth goal for the team allowed Cristall to be the first member of the Kamloops records to record a 100-point season since 2007-08. The Rockets’ win allowed them to clinch a playoff spot.

The next day, March 9, Kelowna beat Kamloops again, this time being a tight 4-3 win. Cristall scored the team’s second goal at 8:12 on a power play during the second period in a come-from-behind 4-3 win. Cristall’s goal pulled the Rockets to within one goal of a tie, at 3-2.

Cristall’s play on March 8 and 9th helped earn him the Tempo WHL Player of the Week – Kelowna Rockets for the second time this season.

On March 22, Kelowna beat the Vancouver Giants 6-2. Cristall had one goal and three assists. His first assist came at 14:54 in the first period on the team’s second goal. It put the team up 2-1. His second assist came at 5:13 in the second period. It put the team up 3-1 and was the game-winner. He scored the team’s fourth goal at 0:24 in the third period which was his 40th of the season and put the team up 4-1. He added a later assist on a power play.

They played the Vancouver Giants again on March 23. This time, Cristall scored the secondary assist on the team’s fourth goal at 4:45 during the third period during a 5-2 win for Kelowna. This allowed the Rockets to clinch fifth place for the regular season.

For March to finish the regular season, Cristall played in 10 games, scoring six goals and recording 15 assists for 21 points. He had at least one point in every game in March, except March 15. He had just one pointless game for the entire month – on March 15.

His overall statistics for the season were 40 goals and 71 assists for 111 points in 62 games. For the regular season, he ranked first in assists and points for the team and was second in goals only to Tig Iginla. He was fifth in assists for the Western Hockey League, as a whole. He has been one of the alternate captains on Kelowna this season.

For the playoffs, Kelowna won their first-round series against the Wenatchee Wild in six games. They played the Prince Georges Cougars (and fellow Capitals prospect, Zack Funk) and were eliminated in five games.

Cristall’s playoff totals were 4 goals and 11 assists for 15 points overall. He led the team in assists and was tied for first in points with Tij Iginla.

Cristall reported to Hershey for work with the coaches and team at the end of the season.

PLAYER FORECAST

Cristall’s shot is  strong in terms of power but he is also very accurate. He’s excellent at shooting through traffic and fooling goaltenders.

While he can be agile on his edges, his straightaway skating is the biggest area needing improvement. He does not have that explosive stride to him, which causes him to struggle on backchecking and on breakaways. However, that will improve as he continues to get stronger. The 2023-24 season saw improvement with his skating.

There are several possibilities for Cristall. He could make the Caps out of Training Camp for 2024-25 or be sent back to the Kelowna Rockets. Given that he does not turn 20 until February, he is still too young to be sent to the Hershey Bears.

RELATED ARTICLES
Monthly Report For Capitals Prospects Playing In The CHL: Cam Allen Returns, Brett Hyland Named Captain, Andrew Cristall, Patrick Thomas Continue Impressive Scoring Pace
Capitals CHL Prospects Monthly Report: Andrew Cristall Continues Scoring Pace, Alexander Suzdalev Settles In With Saskatoon, Cam Allen Returns From Shoulder Surgery
Monthly Report For Capitals Prospects In The Canadian Junior Hockey Leagues — December 2023
Monthly Report For Capitals Prospects In The Canadian Junior Hockey Leagues — November 2023
Andrew Cristall Named WHL Player Of The Week
Capitals Loan Andrew Cristall To Kelowna Rockets In Western Hockey League
Andrew Cristall Continues To Work Hard On His Skating
“It’s First Class”: Capitals Prospect Andrew Cristall Discusses Experience At Washington’s Development Camp
Capitals Release Details Of Andrew Cristall’s Entry-Level Contract
Deep Dive on Capitals’ Second Round Pick – Andrew Cristall
Capitals Select Andrew Cristall In The Second Round Of The 2023 NHL Entry Draft

By Diane Doyle





Source link

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR