Talented Capitals' prospect will join the Hershey Bears in their AHL playoff run

His junior career now officially over, he looks to the pro-portion of his career to make a statement. And if it's anything like what he accomplished in Junior, his will soon become a household name.

Cristall was selected in the second round of the 2023 NHL draft by the Washington Capitals, 40th overall.

At 5'10" and 185 pounds, the forward was selected to the WHL's Western Conference 1st All Star team, and was named a finalist for the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy, awarded annually for the WHL Player Of The Year.

In the 2024-2025 season Andrew led the WHL in scoring during the regular season, with 48 goals and 84 assists, for a total of 132 points. He did this in only 57 games.

The 132 points, by the way, are the second most ever scored in the WHL, second only to Connor Bedard, who finished with 143 points in 2022-2023.

Andrew Cristall finished his junior career with 412 points (157g, 255a) in 248 games and became the first WHL player this century to reach the 400-point plateau.

From Vancouver, BC, Andrew also led his team, Kelowna, in goals during the 2022-2023 season (39), assists (56), and points (95). This young man can flat out put the puck in the net, which should help the Hershey Bears quite nicely as they push to make it deep into the post-season.

Cristall was also a Gold Medal winner for Canada at the 2022 Hlinka Wayne Gretzky Cup; he finished the tournament with 6 points in five games.

Now, getting ice-time in the AHL, in particular during playoff games, will help Andrew strengthen his game and bring his skating up-to-speed for when he joins Washington's training camp in the fall. Caps GM Chris Patrick has been talking about making his team younger.

Andrew Cristall certainly does that, in addition to making the squad more talented and deeper up front.