The WHL announced the first and second All-Star teams for each of their four divisions on Tuesday. The Washington Capitals had prospect representation on both the first and second teams from the league’s BC division as Zac Funk and Andrew Cristall were selected for their standout regular seasons.
Funk scored an incredible, league-leading 67 goals in 68 games for the Prince George Cougars. The 20-year-old winger tallied 123 total points which ranked second in the league and led to him signing a three-year, entry-level deal with the Capitals earlier this month.
Presenting the 2023-24 First Team All-Stars from the B.C. Division!
— The WHL (@TheWHL) March 26, 2024
Funk, a WHL first-team All-Star, was recognized as the league’s Player of the Week on September 25, 2023, and as the Player of the Month for September and October. His 60-goal campaign was a franchise first for a Prince George team that heads into the WHL playoffs as the Western Conference’s number-one seed.
Funk went undrafted in his draft-eligible years and is about to age out of Canadian major junior. He is expected to join up with the AHL’s Hershey Bears potentially as soon as his junior season is done this year.
Led by #ALLCAPS prospect Zac Funk, eight different players reached the 50-goal plateau in 2023-24! #CHLStats pic.twitter.com/GKOCnOvJyl
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) March 26, 2024
The Capitals’ 2023 second-round draft selection, Cristall, made the WHL’s second All-Star team. The 19-year-old winger recorded 111 points (40g,71a) to finish fifth in league scoring.
Cristall had the second-longest point streak in the league this season, notching at least one point in all of his games from November 3, 2023, through January 19, 2024. He tallied 45 points (17g,28a) in those 23 games.
Introducing the 2023-24 Second Team All-Stars from the B.C. Division!
— The WHL (@TheWHL) March 26, 2024
Cristall had a career-high, seven-point performance on March 8 that lifted him above the 100-point plateau for the first time in his career. He is the first Rockets player to hit the single-season milestone since Colin Long had exactly 100 points in 72 games for Kelowna back during the 2007-08 campaign.
Kelowna enters the WHL playoffs as the fifth seed in the Western Conference. They’ll match up with the fourth-seeded Wenatchee Wild in the first round.
