Andrew Cristall’s final junior season has come to an end. Cristall and the Spokane Chiefs were eliminated in Game 5 of the WHL finals against the Medicine Hat Tigers on Friday night, falling just short of their first championship since 2008.
Cristall scored Spokane’s first goal in the 4-2 loss — his only goal in five championship series games — giving him 41 points (21g, 20a) in 19 playoff games. During his most impressive run in the postseason, he scored goals in eight consecutive games from April 16 through May 1, notching 22 points (12g, 10a) and one hat trick.
Cristall finished the regular season as the WHL’s top scorer, notching 132 points (48g, 84a) in 57 games.
The Washington Capitals prospect can officially begin the pro portion of his career as soon as next week. The 2023 second-round pick will likely be assigned to the AHL’s Hershey Bears, joining the back-to-back Calder Cup champions during their Atlantic Division Finals series against the Charlotte Checkers. Game 3 is at Giant Center on Wednesday.
“Normally don’t think that most incoming CHL players are capable of jumping into the Calder Cup Playoffs mid-stream, but Cristall would be one of those exceptions,” top AHL reporter Patrick Williams tweeted Friday night.
Cristall has past familiarity with the Bears and head coach Todd Nelson as he was one of the club’s playoff black aces last year. The 20-year-old winger also spent time under Nelson’s tutelage at Capitals Rookie Camp, which he has attended the past two years.
The British Columbia native was one of the final cuts at the Capitals’ training camp last fall and only did not play in the AHL regular season this year because of the NHL-CHL transfer agreement. Due to still being a teenager at the outset of the season, Cristall could only play in the NHL or go back to the WHL for one last year.
Cristall is an elite offensive talent who could immediately help the Bears if Nelson decides to plug him straight into the team’s lineup. Hershey was led in scoring during the regular season by a defenseman, Ethan Bear, who had 46 points (10g, 36a) in 62 games. The club’s highest-scoring forward was Alex Limoges, who recorded 44 points (17g, 27a) in 53 games.
Hershey’s power play is also struggling mightily during the postseason, scoring on just four of their 31 opportunities and giving up four shorthanded goals (3 of those PPG goals came in one game — Game 4 of the Atlantic Division Semifinals). Cristall finished the WHL playoffs with 12 power-play points (7g, 5a) in 19 games.
The Bears dropped Game 1 of their series against the Checkers on Friday thanks to a shorthanded goal from Ryan Leonard’s older brother, John Leonard. Hershey and Charlotte will be right back at it on Saturday night with Game 2 at the Bojangles Coliseum.
