Dynamic forward dealt

With AC’s departure, the team has just two-19 year-old forwards on its roster in Jakub Stancl and Brett Calhoon, as the team gets younger for the 2026 Memorial Cup.

Regan’s Take: It’s a significant moment—one of the best players to ever wear a Kelowna Rockets uniform has been traded. The comparison to Brett McLean, the franchise’s all-time scoring leader, is inevitable; McLean was also traded during his 20-year-old season, moving to the Brandon Wheat Kings. For Cristall, the return was as expected, with two first-round picks making up the package. No player in this year’s trade deadline fetched that kind of return, but Chiefs GM Matt Bardsley clearly saw the value and was willing to pay the price.

This move has been on the horizon for some time, especially after Cristall’s return from Team Canada’s camp, where his impending trade seemed to weigh heavily on him. Having watched him evolve from a passer to a scorer over his 15- to 19-year-old seasons, I can say that Cristall will go down as one of the best players I’ve seen in my 30 years of WHL broadcasting. While he may not be on the Rockets’ Wall of Recognition, in my eyes, he belongs there—there won’t be another like him for decades.

Many outsiders will say the return wasn’t enough. The fact is, you can’t replace AC in a trade. The assets will never make up for his absence on the roster.

Oh, the two teams meet next Wednesday!

Rockets press release:

The Kelowna Rockets announced today that they have acquired forward 2007-born forward Hayden Paupanekis, two first round selections in 2025 and 2027, a second round pick in 2026, a third round pick in 2025 and a 2026 sixth round selection in the WHL Prospects Draft from the Spokane Chiefs in exchange for 2005-born forward Andrew Cristall.

“First of all, he’s one of the best players that’s ever played for the Rockets. This was probably Lorne Frey’s last big pick for us and what a player he turned out to be,” said Rockets President and General Manager about Cristall.

“He’s going to go on and have a great career. He sadly didn’t get the chance for the World Junior team and unfortunately, he’s going to come up a little short for the all-time points record for our organization, but he was a solid, solid player for us and more importantly, just a wonderful young man that we were lucky to have here for four years. He’s drafted and signed by Washington, so he’ll be playing professionally next year so it was an opportunity for us to acquire a lot of assets.”

But with Andrew, I can’t remember a player other than maybe Jamie Benn or Leon Draisaitl that controlled the game like he did. So, it’s a loss for our team but he gets the chance to play for the Memorial Cup this year with Spokane and he gives them a big offensive boost.”

“We wish Andrew all the best and thank him for his contributions both on and off the ice to the Rockets organization.”

Cristall was Kelowna’s first selection at eighth overall in the 2020 WHL Prospects Draft. Since being drafted by the Rockets, Cristall has played in 219 regular season games along with 20 playoff games. He’s recorded 135 goals, 205 assists for 340 points and a career plus/minus of plus 84. He’s also added five goals and 20 points in 20 postseason games.

Cristall ranks second all-time in Rockets history in both career points and assists behind Brett McLean, while also ranking first in team history amongst players who have played more than 100 games with a point-per-game average of 1.55. He was also named the Rockets Top Scorer last season while also being named the Most Valuable Player at the conclusion of the 2022-23 season.

Over the course of this season, Cristall has been one of the top point producers in the Western Hockey League since being returned from the Washington Capitals of the NHL. The second-round property of the Capitals has played in 28 games this season, scoring 26 goals while adding 34 assists which ranks him within the top five of WHL leading scorers. Cristall also has a +22.

Internationally, Cristall has represented Canada on two separate occasions. He won bronze with Canada at the 2022-23 Under-18 Hockey Championships in the spring while also winning gold with Canada at the 2022-23 Hlinka-Gretzky Cup, where he tallied two goals and six points in seven games.

Paupanekis is in his second full season in the Western Hockey League, suiting up in 39 games this season where he’s scored 11 goals and added 13 assists for 24 points. The 17-year-old from Winnipeg, Manitoba has played in 101 regular season games, scoring 21 goals and 44 points. He’s also scored two goals in four playoff games.

“We got a great young player (Paupanekis) coming back,” Hamilton said about the newest acquisition.

“We got the opportunity to help stock the cupboard with these draft picks that will allow us the chance to be active in the spring and summer. Paupanekis will play in our top six, he’s a big guy out Winnipeg that we are really excited about getting. He’s the player we wanted in the trade, and I think he and the picks we got are going to translate into real good players for us in the near future.”

by Regan Bartel

Dynamic forward dealt

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