Andrew Cristall
2023 NHL Draft Eligible
Position: LW, Shoots L
H/W: 5-10”, 165 lbs
Stats to date (GP-G-A-PTS-PIMS)
Kelowna Rockets, WHL (52-38-50-88-48)
Andrew Cristall is a tantalizing combination of skill and smarts and the best playmaker in this year’s draft. He is an absolute force in terms of creating offense. Primarily a distributor who elevates his linemates, he has posted some gaudy numbers the past two seasons on a rebuilding Rockets team. Cristall is a deceptive player who is elite in transition, especially when carrying the puck. He sees the entire ice well, finds teammates in high-danger areas, and is more than capable of finishing opportunities himself with an accurate shot and a soft pair of hands in tight that have landed him on many a highlight reel. Although not outright fast, he is a shifty skater who regularly fools defenders, and his hockey IQ helps mask defensive deficiencies. He may fly under the radar a bit having missed some games due to injury, including the CHL Top Prospects game, but he moves the needle offensively better than almost anyone in this draft class. He has the skill and smarts to overcome his lack of size and strength but would do well to add power to his stride and engage more often on the defensive side of the puck. If he can do that, he projects as a top-line offensive star.
Skating
Cristall is one of those guys whom you would consider quick but not fast. Despite the ideal frame for it, Cristall will likely never be a speed demon as his straight-ahead ability is just average. His stride isn’t explosive and lacks strength, but never appears choppy and that’s because what Cristall lacks in pure speed he makes up for with fantastic edgework and agility. He’s shifty and deceptive on his feet, with great lateral movement and sudden changes of direction that often leave defenders grasping at air. He maintains a fairly low center of gravity that makes him tough to contain and his first three steps are better than his top gear, hence the quick-but-not-fast conclusion. Many casual fans who watch him will assume him to be faster than he really is. One thing to keep in mind is that defenders will be much quicker to recover at the pro level, so it will be interesting to see if Cristall is still able to beat them one-on-one, or if he becomes a guy who is forced to button-hook more often after gaining the offensive zone with the puck. In his defense, Cristall is a good candidate for the kind of player who could really improve his skating after getting drafted, as his foundation and mechanics are fairly sound; he just needs to add strength and power to the stride. Grade: 55
Here we see Cristall easily sidestep the forechecker without breaking speed. Keeping his head up, he attacks the middle of the offensive zone, pushing back the defender, before cutting to the outside. The defender actually plays this pretty well, but Cristall buys time to see the goalie cheating before roofing it. This is an example of Cristall compensating for his lack of top-end speed with agility on his feet.
Although Cristall isn’t carrying the puck here, he showcases his escapability by receiving a pass in an extremely tight spot, manipulating his body sideways and turning the corner on both defenders. Check out his little stutter-step that freezes the goalie before cutting all the way across the crease.
Not much needs to be said about this one. Cristall’s deception and change of pace one-on-one gets him by the defender with ease before a slick finish.
Shot
Unlike some playmakers who often frustrate with their reluctance to shoot, Cristall will take his share of shots. It’s not necessarily a weapon to beat goalies from distance with pure velocity, but Cristall can pick the corners from past the hashmarks with ease, and his release is quick with some deception. His one-timer is excellent and he does a great job getting the puck on and off his stick to finish bang-bang plays. He’s comfortable finishing plays around the net on his forehand and backhand, and is a heads-up shooter who likes to try and catch the goalie off-guard, such as from behind the goal line. He doesn’t utilize the slapper but his snap and wrist shots are both more than adequate. Although he will likely always be a pass-first guy, Cristall will score his share as well. Grade: 55
A great finish here, as the puck is on and off Cristall’s stick in an instant. This is a play most WHL players probably finish but the release and the placement give the goaltender absolutely no chance in this case.
Cristall drags the puck to the middle on the powerplay before wiring one to the top corner. He generates impressive power on this shot given his body position and amount of space.
Skills
Where to begin? Cristall could have the best high-end offensive skill this side of Bedard. His understanding of time and space is elite. His shiftiness combined with his puck-handling make him the designated puck-carrier through the neutral zone for his line; he will be a zone-entry darling in the NHL. He can stickhandle in a phone booth and possesses a dazzling array of moves that will make your jaw drop. He has the rare ability to slow rushes down, suck defenders in, and then find a teammate for a cross-seam pass that few others would be able to see. His vision and creativity in terms of passing lanes is off the charts; Cristall regularly leads his linemates into space with his puck distribution. He is excellent at completing cross-seam plays into dangerous areas of the ice that make his linemates look better than they are. His hand-eye coordination is excellent, and you’ll often see Cristall attempting cheeky moves with the puck such as the “Michigan.” He quarterbacks the powerplay from the half-wall and can create high-danger opportunities out of almost nothing at even-strength. He is also a weapon one-on-one and can beat defenders with a head fake or a change of pace. Finally, Cristall is adept in the shootout, using his ridiculous hands and patience to make goalies look foolish on dekes. Grade: 65
Vintage Cristall here, as he finds soft ice to receive the pass and shows remarkable patience and poise with the puck to drag away from the defender before outwaiting the goalie for a highlight-reel finish.
Cristall gets the puck in what looks like a prime shooting position but instead draws in defenders before finding the cross-seam pass for the wide-open net. Pay attention to his footwork, making it look like he’s loading up the shot before the dish.
Smarts
Cristall’s hockey IQ is excellent. Although he isn’t a strong defensive player by any means, he began to see some penalty-kill time later in the season and showed well, with his understanding of passing lanes and ability to anticipate the play making him a threat shorthanded after breaking up plays. He has an uncanny sense of where all his linemates are on the ice, especially on the weak side. He is also adept at using every inch of real estate on the ice and is fantastic at keeping the puck in the offensive zone, and making plays in tight windows. Unlike some other diminutive skilled offensive players, Cristall does not stick to the perimeter. He loves to attack the offensive zone down the middle and has fantastic spatial awareness with or without the puck. This allows him to find open ice with ease and anticipate the play. He is this draft’s premier playmaker. Grade: 65
Cristall’s anticipation proves to be an asset on the forecheck, as he reads the play, picks off the pass, and buys time with a juke before throwing what perhaps looks like a bad pass intended for the F3 but on further look was intended for the weakside d-man all along, creating a scoring chance from almost nothing. This was from his 16-year-old season.
One of my favorite clips from Cristall this year because it encapsulates his strengths and weaknesses so beautifully in the same play. Entrusted with some PK duties, Cristall overcommits early, opening some passing lanes behind him. About halfway through the clip, a pass is missed and Cristall has a chance to put serious pressure on the defenseman forced to pick the puck up on his backhand, but instead does a lazy flyby which leads to a scoring chance against down low. After another high danger chance against, linemate Carson Golder makes a heck of a play to spring Cristall and with the man out of the box, it’s a 3-on-2. Even though he’s at the end of a shift, Cristall shows unreal patience and poise with the puck as he takes the scenic route to the high slot, sucking in both defenders before dishing it backdoor just when it seemed he was out of options.
Physicality
Although Cristall is fearless about attacking the dangerous parts of the offensive zone, he is still a small player who lacks strength in his stride and although he protects the puck fairly well for his size, he can get pushed off the puck by larger players. He has the smarts to create offense off the cycle but his effectiveness can be limited in physical games played in the corners. We also need to talk about Cristall’s defense since it’s likely to be discussed ad nauseum heading into the draft: it’s not great, admittedly. Cristall is usually the last forward back in the defensive zone, that guy just off the screen on TV covering the weak-side defenseman. He likes to leave the defensive zone early and can get caught cheating for offense at times. His elite hockey IQ helps make up for these shortcomings, as Cristall is adept at anticipating turnovers. When engaged and committed to the defensive side he usually understands where to be on the ice, but he needs to be less passive in his own zone and stronger on the boards when helping with zone exits, for example. Cristall can get caught over-reaching and committing stick fouls when his feet aren’t moving. The truth is, anyone drafting Cristall likely isn’t going to be deploying him in any defensive role at the next level, so it’s more so just a matter of becoming adequate in the defensive zone and executing the system in order to not be a liability, and Cristall absolutely has the smarts to do that. The rest is up to him. Grade: 45
A lazy penalty here from Cristall as he doesn’t make a hard enough play on the puck carrier and then reaches out to take him down needlessly.
Overall Future Projection (OFP): 57.5
A note on the 20-80 scale used above. We look at five attributes (skating, shooting, puck skills, hockey IQ and physicality) for skaters and six for goalies (athleticism/quickness, compete/temperament, vision/play reading, technique/style, rebound control and puck handling). Each individual attribute is graded along the 20-80 scales, which includes half-grades. The idea is that a projection of 50 in a given attribute meant that our observer believed that the player could get to roughly NHL average at that attribute at maturity.