Andrew Cristall 'Heavily' Invested In His Skating & Carrying Himself As A Pro This Summer, And The Capitals Have Taken Notice

After his first NHL development camp and signing his entry-level deal with the Washington Capitals in July, prospect Andrew Cristall headed back home to Canada with a goal in mind before training camp: to improve his skating.

The 18-year-old, who was taken 40th overall in the 2023 NHL Draft, impressed the league with his stickhandling, playmaking and high hockey IQ, but one area that raised some questions was his speed and skating ability.

While it's all part of the process, Cristall decided to take charge and, instead of waiting to figure it out and beat it to the punch by signing up to work with famous power skating coach Barb Aidelbaum.

"I worked heavily with here 3-4 times a week for basically the whole summer," Cristall said on Sunday.

Watching Cristall now at rookie camp and informal skates, it's easy to see the difference in his skating. He appears more poised and confident in his ability, and he's gained a noticeable step that makes him stand out from his fellow attendees.

"I'm glad that it's showing that it's improved a bit, but there's still a lot of work to go," Cristall pointed out. "I definitely feel a step faster for sure. I was always kind of strong on my edges, but my straight line's a little bit faster, for sure. So I hopefully I can lean on that this year."

Washington's front office has also taken notice.

"He's worked at it for sure, without a doubt," assistant general manager Ross Mahoney said. "He's very shifty. Diagonally, he can really cut across the ice and make it difficult for defensemen. He's working on his overall speed, which has improved, but you have to be patient... there's definite improvement for sure."

There are high hopes for Cristall going into the future, as he's been compared to T.J. Oshie and likens his playing style to the likes of Nicklas Backstrom, Mitch Marner and Nikita Kucherov.

At the end of the day, Cristall has the potential to be a top contributor and needed scorer when the Alex Ovechkin era ends and the team heads toward a rebuild.

Skating is a major first step, but Cristall has also done more to add to his game, like joining the team for informal skates ahead of training camp and putting himself in a pro-environment as often as possible.

"I was lucky enough to come here a little bit early and skate with [Ovechkin and] some of those guys... Watching them do what they do and they’re all super nice as well and talking, it was a pretty great environment for me.

“Obviously, you have to train the right way, treat your body properly with what you’re eating, how much sleep you’re getting. but the main thing just carrying your business on the ice and off the ice. Being polite to staff and meeting everybody and greeting everybody. I think I learned a lot already from the pros I skated with in the summer.”

He has also upped the ante at rookie camp and is ready to kick things into a higher gear when the main camp opens on Thursday.

“When the intensity’s up and everyone’s competing, it’s a lot more fun out here.” he explained, adding, "I was lucky enough to come here a little bit early and skate with [Ovechkin and] some of those guys. Training camp's the real deal when everyone's working to get a job... you kind of want to stay in the present."

Going into his post-draft year, Cristall is trying to live in the moment and isn't jumping to conclusions or getting ahead of himself. Still, he has high hopes for himself, and it all starts in D.C.

"For me, it’s keep getting better day by day. I don’t have too many expectations this year. I think, just honestly, this camp is to learn a lot and try to be a sponge to all the veteran guys that I’m gonna be on the ice with. That's the biggest thing for my short term.

"Hopefully [I] have a good year with Kelowna and make it far in the playoffs. That'd be nice.”