Getting to play in a lineup that included forwards Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom and defenseman John Carlson was not part of the Capitals' initial plan for Cristall, but his play warranted a spot.
"He earned his way (into the lineup)," Washington assistant general manager Ross Mahoney said. "We've always had kids come to development camp after the draft and then go home with instructions from our development team and strength coaches and nutritionists and everybody else to make themselves better. He came back and he had a really good training camp and he earned that right to play in the game.
"He is working hard to get himself stronger. And in getting stronger, I think his speed is improving. He's always been a really, really intelligent player. His vision, what he sees on the ice I think really sets him apart from a lot of other young players. He's got great hands. He can score but he can also pass the puck with his vision. So those were things in his draft year that really jumped out at us, the hands and the hockey sense. And that desire to win. He's a real competitive guy. And for not being the biggest player (5-foot-10, 167 pounds), he's not afraid to go to the net. He goes into those hard areas to make plays or to try to score. So that really jumped out at us. The character, but he's very, very competitive for a guy a little bit smaller in stature. There's no fear in his game at all as far as taking the puck to the net."
Cristall was sent to Kelowna the day after his preseason game, and the parting message was to treat the WHL like you would the NHL.
"Don't slow yourself down to that level," Mahoney said. "You've got to keep that intensity in practice, just like you're at in the NHL."
Cristall is trying to take that message to heart.
"Play like you're practicing [in Washington], playing against NHL caliber defenseman, and I think that mindset definitely helps a lot," he said. "Maybe sometimes in junior you can kind of slack off and relax a little bit and kind of forget those small details. So I think for me, to have that messaging from them to treat every practice, every rep and every game kind of like an NHL game, because in the end that's where you want to be, that mindset definitely helped me a little bit at the start. And I'm going to try and keep building on that."
OTHERS TO WATCH
Colby Barlow, LW, Owen Sound (WPG): Barlow had two goals and an assist in his season debut, a 5-2 win against Kitchener on Oct. 6. He scored again one night later in a 6-5 overtime win against Erie and had one goal against Sudbury in a 3-2 overtime loss Friday. Selected by the Jets in the first round (No. 18) of the 2023 draft, the 18-year-old has five points (four goals, one assist) in four games. He was fifth in the Ontario Hockey League with 46 goals in 59 games last season.
Mathieu Cataford, LW, Halifax (VGK): Cataford opened the season with points in five straight games, including four multipoint games. He had three assists in a 9-1 win against Acadie-Bathurst on Oct. 1, matching his single-game best from his three seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Selected by the Vegas Golden Knights in the third round (No. 77) of the 2023 draft, the 18-year-old has 12 points (three goals, nine assists) in seven games, includling two assists in a 3-2 loss overtime loss to Chicoutimi on Friday. He had 75 points (31 goals, 44 assists) in 68 games last season.
Brayden Yager, C, Moose Jaw (PIT): Yager has scored three game-winning goals in his first five games, including each of his first two games, against Brandon on Sept. 29 and Regina on Sept. 30. Then he did it again in against Medicine Hat on Oct. 7, with his second shorthanded goal of the game holding up as the winner in a 4-3 victory. Selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round (No. 14) of the 2023 draft, the 18-year-old has 12 points (seven goals, fives assists) in six games this season, including a goal and an assist in a 4-3 win against Lethbridge on Friday. He was second on Moose Jaw last season with 78 points (28 goals, 50 assists) in 67 games.
