{"id":105426,"date":"2025-07-30T18:00:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T18:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/105426\/"},"modified":"2025-07-30T18:00:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T18:00:09","slug":"east-notes-cristall-blake-sabres","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/105426\/","title":{"rendered":"East Notes: Cristall, Blake, Sabres"},"content":{"rendered":"

Andrew Cristall<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>was one of the biggest fallers of the 2023 draft, slipping to the Capitals in the second round at No. 40 overall despite some tabbing him as a potential top-10 pick. Concerns about his size \u2013 the winger checks in at 5\u201910\u201d and 183 lbs \u2013 outweighed the offensive ceiling he displayed with 95 points in 54 games for the WHL\u2019s Kelowna Rockets in his draft year.<\/p>\n

In the two seasons since, the 20-year-old left winger has only improved and now, as he turns pro, will be given a legitimate chance to crack the Capitals\u2019 opening night roster, general manager Chris Patrick told NHL.com\u2019s Harvey Valentine<\/a>. \u201cHe\u2019s going to come in, if he has a camp like last camp, it\u2019s going to be hard on the coaching staff to not keep him on their NHL team,\u201d Patrick said.<\/p>\n

His strong training camp showing with Washington last year preceeded an absolutely dominant junior campaign from Cristall in 2024-25, and that may be an understatement. He scored 28 goals and 60 points in just 28 games for the Rockets before a trade sent him to the Spokane Chiefs, where he finished the year with 72 points in only 29 games \u2013 a rate of 2.48 per game. That was good enough for the WHL scoring title with 132 points despite only playing in 57 of 68 regular-season games.<\/p>\n

Cristall capped off his season with 21 goals and 41 points in 19 playoff games, leading the postseason in goals and being named a CHL First Team All-Star at season\u2019s end. Now eligible for an assignment to AHL Hershey if he doesn\u2019t crack the opening night roster, he\u2019ll look to work his name into competition for a middle-six spot in Washington\u2019s group as they deal with some turnover at the forward position.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s more from the Eastern Conference today:<\/p>\n