Cristall rose through ranks with Bedard, hopes for future with Capitals

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Andrew Cristall grew up playing with and against center Connor Bedard, selected by the Chicago Blackhawks with the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.

Now the 18-year-old forward prospect can look forward to the day they skate against each other in the League, after being selected by the Washington Capitals in the second round (No. 40) of the 2023 draft.

Cristall said he was 6 years old when he and Bedard first got acquiainted.

"We met playing spring hockey for the Vancouver Vipers and the friendship kind of started from there," Cristall said during Capitals development camp last month. "Then, we started playing (against) each other in winter and were rivals and then teammates the next spring. We've kind of just grown up together throughout hockey and now we're with each other all the time in the summer, so it's pretty nice."

Cristall, who signed a three-year, entry-level contract wtih Washington on July 6, said he believes his game benefited from growing up with Bedard.

"I think when you're competing against that guy in the summer and in the season, you can kind of compare yourself to him a little bit and see what you do and see how close you are," Cristall said. "If you're better than him at some sports, then you can get pretty confident because he's the best in the world at a lot of things."

Some of Bedard's hockey acumen clearly rubbed off on Cristall (5-foot-10, 167 pounds), who led Kelowna of the Western Hockey League last season with 95 points (39 goals, 56 assists) in 54 games, good for sixth in the league, and his 1.76 points per game ranked fourth. He was named Kelowna's team MVP, was selected to the WHL B.C. Division First All-Star Team and has 169 points (69 goals, 100 assists) in 129 WHL games.

Washington assistant general manager Ross Mahoney praised Cristall's hands and hockey sense during development camp, saying strength and speed are areas he needs to work on.

"[The strength coaches are] going to give him a plan to work off the ice to improve his leg strength, which will probably help him with his sort of overall speed," Mahoney said. "He's got really good edges. He can turn and change directions really quickly and he's got a really good change of pace. It's just a matter of that top-end speed."

During camp, Cristall worked with skating coach Wendy Marco.

"It's definitely a different experience for me," Cristall said. "I think the first day or second day we had the hurdles on the ice and the medicine balls, so it was pretty cool to kind of work on that stuff."

He returned to Vancouver after camp and is preparing for his fourth WHL season.

"I don't think I've fully matured yet, so I think keep growing," he said when asked what he needs to improve on to reach the NHL. "I've definitely got some more room to fill in and just keep working on my skating and my all-around game, for sure. I think those are the two main areas where if I can get those and make them, I guess, my strengths then I'll have a good path, for sure."