Photography courtesy Hershey Bears
This rising star on the rink has his sight set on the NHL
Washington Capitals fans better get ready. Forward Andrew Cristall could be a full-time NHL player soon. That’s based on his success with the Hershey Bears, the organization’s top minor league affiliate.
Cristall really got noticed putting up sizzling numbers in Canada’s Western Hockey League during the 2024–25 season with 44 goals and 82 assists. Cristall, one of the Washington Capitals prized prospects, led the league in scoring (126 points) to earn the Bob Clarke Trophy. He added a WHL-leading 21 points in 19 playoff games.
For all his strengths, the 20-year-old Cristall understands his weaknesses and what he needs to do to make it to Washington one day. Analysts pointed them out—skating ability, size—going back to the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, when Washington took him in the second round, 40th overall.
Experts considered him a first-round talent. He’s committed to improving the knocks on him—and in a dramatic way. The 5-foot-10 Cristall worked with skating coach Barb Aidelbaum in Vancouver in the 2025 offseason, improving his speed and stride.
During the same time, he worked out as much as possible to add strength and ended up bulking up from 167 pounds in 2023 to 186 now. He weighed 180 coming into the season. “I would like to get up to 190,” Cristall explains. “That would help me in the corners. The resources in Hershey have just been great.”
Cristall sees vast improvement and results in his first season of professional hockey with Hershey. It demonstrates that he has real NHL potential. After a hot start, he led the Bears in scoring with 20 points in 24 games.
“As every game goes by, I feel I am getting more ready for the NHL and more confident,” Cristall says. “I feel I am developing every day.” Now, he ranks second in scoring with 37 points (10 goals, 30 assists) in 51 games behind leader and forward Ilya Protas (41 points in 51 games), as of press time.
We recently talked to Cristall about his growth as a player, his interactions with Washington coach Spencer Carbery during rookie summer camps, his relationship with Chicago star Connor Bedard, the 2023 draft’s No. 1 overall pick, and much more.
How would you describe your offensive game? I think I am more of a playmaker. I think I see the ice super well. I can be dangerous in the open ice and score when I need to. (The no-look pass) is a tool I have when you get more space or use when you are looking off a defender. They may not know where you are passing and a lane will open up to get a good play in. It’s another area of my game to make plays and create great scoring opportunities.
Photography courtesy Hershey Bears
What have your interactions with Coach Carbery been like? We have conversations about hockey. We also talk about how I am doing off the ice. When you are playing games and he is behind the bench, he gives you feedback. It’s great to get to know him and the other coaches as well. He has been awesome. He is a super smart coach and good at communicating with everybody.
How many Capitals rookie camps have you attended? What have you learned from them? I have been to three. Going there right after the draft is a whirlwind. You are so excited to be at an NHL rookie camp. We have so many player development guys and players to talk to. You have a bunch of great prospects you can compare yourself to and play and compete with. The camps have been great experiences.
What areas of your game have you elevated the most? Just the 200-foot game overall. The coaches have been really great at telling me where to take my chances and where I need to be in the right spots. My game has come a long way, but there is more to improve on. That’s for sure.
My wall play is really good and has gotten better. I see it as getting out of your zone and transitioning to offense. I am smart and knowing when to engage in a battle and when to hold back and help the defense out. My reading of plays has gotten better. You have to be trusted on the ice at all times and that will get you to the next level.
What do you have to continue to work on to get better? Actually, building strength and getting stronger as well as improving my speed. Both those things have come a long way with me gaining weight and working out. But to play here and at the next level, to be dominant, you have to be fast and strong to win puck battles. Those two areas are the ones I am looking to improve on.
Has the training been different at Hershey versus junior hockey? There are a lot of resources in Hershey. I see a nutritionist. He works with us. We have a strength and conditioning coach. He gets us to work in the gym to get stronger. Hershey is one of the best organizations in the American Hockey League and a place you can really develop. It’s been awesome so far.
What has been the biggest challenge at Hershey? I would just say the learning experience of pro hockey. At the start of the year, it’s just so new and green. Guys are stronger and faster and the reads you have to make are a lot quicker. That was the biggest learning experience. You have to make plays. I have come a long way, and my game is getting better.
What has been the biggest surprise? Stuff outside of the rink. What you have to do, like all the cooking, figuring your rent out, and finding a place. It’s all new for me coming out of junior hockey. It has helped me mature.
Working out with Connor Bedard has obviously helped you develop as a player. Tell me about your relationship with him? I have known him since I was probably seven years old. We played spring hockey on the same team. We did that until I was probably 15. We work out together in the summers in Vancouver. Now, we train and skate together. We do a lot of 3 on 3s. When we get on the ice together, we like to talk to each other about the plays we see and what we need to work on. He is a guy to lean on when I have a question about hockey. We are still young and we like to hang out. We are good buddies.
