Andrew Cristall is headed to the AHL’s Hershey Bears after completing his final junior season in the WHL last week.
The 20-year-old forward joins the Bears ahead of their must-win Game 3 in the Atlantic Division Finals against the Charlotte Checkers. The Capitals announced the move on Tuesday afternoon.
Cristall finished the WHL regular season as the league’s top scorer, recording a career-high 132 points (48g, 84a) in 57 games. He then added an additional 41 points (21g, 20a) in 19 playoff games, falling just shy of a WHL championship with the Spokane Chiefs.
The 2023 second-round pick has been on a Bears playoff roster before, being assigned to Hershey as a black ace for a few weeks last year. Despite almost making the Capitals out of training camp, Cristall was ineligible to play in the AHL this year due to the NHL-CHL transfer agreement prohibiting teenage-aged CHL players from playing in the league.
Cristall played in four preseason games for the Capitals, tying for the team lead in scoring with three points (2g, 1a). He joins a Hershey roster already chock-full of the organization’s top prospects, including Ilya Protas, Ivan Miroshnichenko, Terik Parascak, Ryan Chesley, and others.
The Bears resume their best-of-five series against the Checkers on Wednesday night at GIANT Center. The back-to-back Calder Cup champions need to win three games in a row to avoid their first playoff elimination since the first round of the 2022 AHL playoffs.
Here’s the full press release from the Washington Capitals:
Capitals Re-assign Andrew Cristall to Hershey
Forward led WHL in scoring with 132 points in 57 games
ARLINGTON, Va. – The Washington Capitals have re-assigned forward Andrew Cristall from the Spokane Chiefs of the Western Hockey League (WHL) to the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL), senior vice president and general manager Chris Patrick announced today.
The Capitals selected Cristall in the second round (40th overall) of the 2023 NHL Draft.
Cristall, 20, led the WHL in scoring during the regular season with 132 points (48g, 84a) in 57 games played. Cristall’s 132 points marked the most by a WHL player in a single season since Connor Bedard (143 points) in 2022-23. Cristall, who began the season with the Kelowna Rockets before being traded to Spokane on Jan. 8, also ranked second in the WHL in goals, assists, plus-minus (+59) and tied for sixth in shorthanded goals (3). The 5’10”, 183-pound forward was selected to the WHL’s Western Conference First All-Star Team and named a finalist for the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy, presented annually to the WHL Player of the Year. Cristalladded 41 points (21g, 20a) in 19 postseason contests, helping Spokane reach the WHL Championship Series. Cristall’s 21 goals led all skaters in the WHL Playoffs, while his 41 points ranked second. Cristall finished his WHL career with 412 points (157g, 255a) 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 (40g, 71a) in 62 games with Kelowna. Cristall 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 (4g, 11a) in 11 WHL playoff games.
The Vancouver, British Columbia native spent the 2022-23 season with Kelowna, where he led the team in goals (39), assists (56) and points (95). Cristall’s 1.76 points-per-game rate ranked 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 (28) and tied the franchise record for points by a 16-year-old (69).
Cristall won a gold medal with Canada at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, finishing the tournament with six points (1g, 5a) in five games. In addition, Cristall served as an alternate captain at the 2023 Under-18 World Championship, where he registered six points (2g, 4a) in seven games and helped Canada to the bronze medal.
