The Washington Capitals have re-assigned forward Andrew Cristall from the Spokane Chiefs of the Western Hockey League or WHL to the Hershey Bears. The WHL forward led the league in scoring with 132 points in 57 games.
Cristall was picked in the second round at 40th overall in the 2023 NHL Draft. The 20 year old led the WHL in scoring as those 132 points were in the form of 48 goals and 48 assists.
His 132 points also marked the most by a WHL player in a single season since Connor Bedard who had 143 points in 2022-23.
Cristall began the season with the Kelowna Rockets before being traded to Spokane on Jan. 8. He also ranked second in the WHL in goals, assists, plus/minus at +59 and tied for sixth in shorthanded goals with three.
The five foot 10, 183 pound forward was selected to the WHL's Western Conference First All Star Team and was named a finalist for the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy, presented annually to the WHL Player of the Year.
Cristall would also add 41 points with 21 goals and 20 assists in 19 postseason contests as he helped Spokane reach the WHL Championship Series.
Those 21 goals led all skaters in the WHL Playoffs and his 41 points ranked second. He finished his WHL career with 412 points with 157 goals and 255 assists in 248 games and became the first WHL player this century to reach the 400 point mark.
During the 2023-24 season Cristall recorded 111 points with 40 goals and 71 assists in 62 games with Kelowna. He ranked fifth in the WHL in points during the regular season and was named to the WHL B.C. Division Second All Star Team.
In addition, Cristall ranked tied for first on Kelowna with 15 points with four goals and 11 assists in 11 WHL playoff games.
The native of Vancouver, British Columbia spent the 2022-23 season with Kelowna where he led the team in goals with 39, assists with 56, and points with 95. His 1.76 pints per game rate raked fourth in the WHL, while his 95 points ranked tied for sixth.
Cristall was named Kelowna's team MVP and was selected to the WHL B.C. Division First All Star Team. During the 2021-22 season, Cristall set a Kelowna Rockets franchise record for goals by a 16 year old with 28 and tied the franchise record for points by a 16 year old with 69.
Cristall won a gold medal with Team Canada at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup as he finished the tournament with six points with a goal and five assists in five games.
In additon, Cristall served as an alternate captain at the 2023 Under 18 Wold Championship where he registered six points with two goals and four assists in seven games and helped Canada to the bronze medal.