Why The Capitals Chose To Return Cristall To Juniors: 'It's A Hard League... It Was The Right Decision To Make'
The Capitals want Cristall to have another dominant year down in juniors.
Sammi Silber - The Hockey News - Why The Capitals Chose To Return Cristall To Juniors: 'It's A Hard League... It Was The Right Decision To Make'WASHINGTON — The Washington Capitals didn't enjoy telling Andrew Cristall that he didn't make the cut after a stellar showing through training camp, but they know it's the right move going forward.
Washington assigned Cristall, who is not old enough to play in the AHL yet, back to the WHL's Kelowna Rockets on Monday as he and Ivan Miroshnichenko (loaned to Hershey) were the final cuts of camp.
Though Cristall dazzled with three points in four preseason games and stood out with his tenacity, work ethic, speed and shot, head coach Spencer Carbery sees more of a benefit in having him return to juniors for another year rather than staying up at the NHL level.
"Cristall had probably the best camp of those guys (competing for a role), but there's a lot more that goes into it of him and his development," Carbery said.
First off, for Washington, it's vital that Cristall is playing top minutes on a nightly basis. Though he doesn't have much left to necessarily prove at the WHL level, he will get more ice time and looks there, which is much more than he would get playing at the highest level right now.
"(There's benefit to him) being in the lineup every night and potentially playing power play," Carbery said. "If he's playing 7-8 minutes, does that help him as a player?"
The Capitals also want to see Cristall, who comes in at 5-10, 185 pounds, get bigger and stronger before entering the rough-and-tumble NHL full-time.
"It also is the NHL, and it's a hard league and there's big players and it's strong," Carbery pointed out. "So him getting another year of junior under his belt to come back after having the camp that he had, I think it's going to be a good situation for him."
At the end of the day, Washington is thinking more in terms of what's best for Cristall's future, and right now, that means going back for one more dominant year at the junior level before being introduced to the Show.
"The thing for Andrew, which you saw a little bit, is in the preseason he did a lot of phenomenal things and there were so many positives to what he brought," Carbery said. "You can tell there's a lot of things that give you optimism that he's going to have a long, successful National Hockey League career.
"... Thinking about his long-term projection inside the organization, I think it was the right decision to make for Andrew Cristall and not just being solely focused on what the Washington Capitals need."
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