Andrew Cristall is a special player.
It doesn’t take a hockey genius to figure that out.
But, how can a smallish player be this good, this quick, to the point he was a stone’s throw away from making an NHL roster at 19?
Like some, he has never flatlined; instead, he gets better year after year.
“Can he win games on his own, I hope that is not the case,” Rockets head coach Kris Mallette told RocketFAN upon his return to the WHL for one more year of development. “If it has to happen, it has to happen,” he said with a chuckle.
Cristall, who is hard-pressed to stand 5 feet 10 inches tall, can win games independently, but his supporting cast is significantly stronger now than in his third season in the Western Hockey League.
“He is a good player, but we have a good group surrounding him,” Mallette emphasized. Last year we probably had four really good offensive players. This year, some real good players will come out on their own. I think Max Graham is prime for a real big year.”
Cristall missed the opening five games of the regular season, spending four NHL pre-season games suiting up for the Washington Capitals. His return resulted in the team rolling off three consecutive wins.
“I think with him, it’s the next play mentality,” Mallette added when asked about why the Vancouver, BC born product is in a league of his own. “Most [players] can see one play. I think AC is always scanning, he can maybe see two or three. He can manipulate the defense, their feet and manipulate their stick and put it into an area with a little bit of touch that is on a platter for someone who can finish.”
A good example of putting a puck on a platter came Monday afternoon against the Prince Albert Raiders when Cristall set up rookie Kanjyu Gojsic for his first career goal. Cristall sent a saucer pass, past a diving d-man’s stick, right on the blade of the 16-year-old for an easy tap in.
“As his game has matured over the years, you see him shooting the puck more,” Mallette said. “He has the ability to find those areas that goalies are potentially cheating. His hockey IQ is off the charts. Some players have speed. Some have grit, but AC’s IQ is next level. To see what is happening before it happens. That is where his brain is at a lot of the time.”
With seven points in two games since his return, helping with wins over Portland and Prince Albert, Cristall is closing in on 300 career points. With 287, he is a sure bet to join six other players who’ve accomplish the feat since the franchise was born in Tacoma, Washington in 1992-93 and then relocated to the Okanagan Valley in 1995.
“He has been a big part of our team for a lot of years,” Mallette added about Cristall joining the franchise as a 15-year-old in the bubble season when COVID hockey featured zero fans in the building. “I think his shift length is something we are going to continue to keep an eye on. He gets out there and just wants to win. He wants to contribute. He doesn’t expend a lot of energy, and sees the game so well, so it is those little habits and details to get him to that next level.
“He knows guys are going to be coming after him. He is the marquee guy on our team. He has to temper that frustration in his game, harness that inner strength that he has and utilize it out on the ice.”
With such a long stay at the NHL level, you would think Hockey Canada has taken notice at his inclusion at the world junior hockey championships when the high-profile tournament starts up in two short months from now.
“Could he play in the top-six for Canada at the world juniors in December? His brain is there,” Mallette said. “His ability to score and find scorers is there, but can he do the little things in that tournament and that environment? It is so short. It is a seven-day sprint. It is high pressure, which I don’t think he has a problem with at all.
“Right now, his focus is on helping the Kelowna Rockets, and if he does what he can do here with us, I like his chances playing in December.”
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