Cristall knows it's a tall task, but he's planning to stick around with the Capitals to open 2024-25.
Washington Capitals prospect Andrew Cristall knows it won't be easy, but his sights are set on staying in the D.C. area to open the 2024-25 season as he eyes a spot on the opening night roster.
After a strong summer of training and preparation, the 2023 second-round pick is confident going into his second NHL training camp, and his goal is to make Spencer Carbery's roster despite a lack of vacancies up front.
"The goal is obviously to make the team. I think coming into camp, you want to give your best foot forward and try to do your best," Cristall said at rookie camp on Saturday. "To have a lofty goal, it's gonna be hard to do that, but it's what I'm trying to do."
For the 5-foot-10 forward, the challenge starts with taking the Capitals' feedback in stride, which meant working on his speed and skating while adding some size in order to get ready to play at the highest level.
So, after his impressive 111-point season with the AHL's Kelowna Rockets, Cristall got to work. He spent time with the AHL's Hershey Bears to get a taste of life in the pros and also spent time in Plymouth before returning to his native Vancouver to start his offseason training.
There, he skated with the likes of Mat Barzal, Macklin Celebrini, Kent Johnson and more pros, while also becoming dedicated to the gym and adding muscle ahead of his second season in the Washington organization.
"(I worked on) all the skills and stuff and minor details as well, but mostly skating and my strength," Cristall said. "Getting a little bit more explosive and putting on some more weight for some corner battles and stick battles and things like that. I do feel a difference."
Cristall is in an interesting position entering main camp; if he does not win an NHL spot, he is not yet eligible to make the AHL jump, meaning he would have to start the year in juniors again. That said, he's eager to make that pro jump.
As he stated earlier, though, the 19-year-old faces heavy competition; there aren't that many spots left to go for after D.C. overhauled roughly a third of the roster while adding Pierre-Luc Dubois, Andrew Mangiapane and several other forwards.
All the while, he'll not only have to compete with Jakub Vrana, who's coming to camp on a PTO and eager to return to the NHL, but he'll also have to battle the likes of Ethen Frank, Ivan Miroshnichenko, Bogdan Trineyev and other prospects for a full-time NHL job while convincing the organization that it's better for him to be up in D.C. than down in the WHL playing top minutes.
Still, he's ready for the challenge, especially after improving in key areas, and he's feeling as confident as ever going into next week.
"I feel like I'm checking the boxes pretty well," Cristall said. "I think (I've improved) kind of a mix of speed, strength and just my details around the game. I think I'm a lot smarter with the puck, where to put the puck and how to kind of get it back when I don't have it."
