Andrew Cristall is taking a brief pause in pursuit of playing pro

Cristall isn’t one for sitting around despite playing a grueling 68-game Western Hockey League schedule and then participating in 11 playoff games. Off-season training is close at hand.

“After every season, guys like winding it down a little bit,” he added. “My break isn’t too long, but it is good to give your body a little bit of a rest. I am still trying to figure out the right amount [of rest], but when I got home, I had four or five days of rest and now I am itching to get back on the ice and start working out.”

Playing big minutes in the post-season against the other teams top defenders, Cristall and teammate Tij Iginla tied for the team lead in playoff scoring with 15 points.

“At the end of the season you are sore,” he confessed. “You have bumps and bruises and get pretty tired, but if you treat your body well and recover properly after the season it shouldn’t take too long for you to feel rejuvenated again.”

Combining on-ice practice with lifting weights, the focus over the next two months will be on getting better while getting physically bigger.

“For me, both are significant,” Cristall suggesting that you can’t have one without the other. “I think the off-ice is more important, keep gaining weight and getting stronger. Then again, the on-ice is super important when you are doing power skating.”

Playing in a roller-hockey league last summer with Chicago Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard caught significant media attention. While it helped Cristall work on his cardio and his stickwork, it may come to an abrupt end for the likable forward and the consensus choice as NHL rookie of the year.

“Discussion is going on with the team right now,” he said with a chuckle. “It is under debate, so we will see what happens. I am not sure if we are going to play or not going to play.”

Cristall hasn’t been home very long. It was last Monday that he returned from a short stint with the American Hockey League’s Hersey Bears, the top farm team of the NHL’s Washington Capitals, the team that drafted him in the second-round in 2023.

“I learned a lot,” Cristall added about joining them after the Kelowna Rockets were eliminated in the second-round of the WHL playoffs by the Prince George Cougars. “While I only practiced with them [during their playoff run], I skated and worked out with their staff. I learned a lot about how the players treat their bodies and what they need to prepare themselves to go out on the ice.”

Practice does make perfect. Cristall joined other prospects for practice sessions, watched home games in the Bears opening-round playoff series with the Calgary Wranglers before finally being sent home once the Bears advanced to the Eastern Conference finals against the Cleveland Monsters.

Lucas Johansen and fellow WHL alumni Ryan Hofer (Everett/Kamloops Blazers) and Matthew Phillips (Victoria Royals) were among the familiar faces he skated with while down in Hershey.

“He [Johansen] was super nice to me. It was a good connection being a former Rocket. It was cool being around him and getting to know him. All around a really good guy who is playing well.

“There are a lot of WHL guys playing on that team, so there is an underlying bond,” he said. “In the locker room everyone talks about their junior days, so it is easy to relate to those guys and joke around and there is a comfortable feeling going there.”

Outside of improving his golf game, and a possible short vacation with his family once the weather warms up, Cristall is hoping to be one of the players invited to Team Canada’s summer development camp, which is typically held in Calgary in late July.

“That would be a huge opportunity,” he said about playing at the high-profile event at Christmas. “Hopefully that happens, and I will be able to showcase myself. That would be a big opportunity.”

The 2025 tournament returns to Canada, with the United States holding bragging rights as defending champions when the event is held in Ottawa.

Cristall will most likely return for his fourth and final season in the WHL in 2024-2025, unless he makes the Washington Capitals in training camp. Realistically, a few NHL pre-season games are his goal before returning to junior hockey and leading his team in scoring for a third consecutive season – something no player in the organization has been able to attain.

“Everybody’s goal should be to make it to the NHL,” Cristall offered. “The goal is to play there, but wherever I am playing, I need to work on my skating, get faster, and get that extra step that I need.

“In the gym, putting on some more weight so I can be strong in corner battles and winning pucks all around the rink would help a lot.”

by Regan Bartel

Andrew Cristall is taking a brief pause in pursuit of playing pro

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