The Washington Capitals have two prospects earning high honors at the junior level, as forwards Andrew Cristall and Ilya Protas are both up for Canadian Hockey League Awards, which will be presented on Friday. Cristall, who played for the WHL's Kelowna Rockets and Spokane Chiefs this past season and led the entire league in scoring, is up for the CHL's top scorer award, along with OHL leader Michael Misa and QMJHL leader Jonathan Fauchon from the QMJHL. In 58 regular-season games between the Rockets and Chiefs this season, Cristall had 48 goals and 84 assists for a record 132 points. He then added 41 points in 19 playoff games for Spokane for a total of 174 points over the course of 2024-25. Misa had 134 points in the regular season with the Saginaw Spirit in the OHL and added 10 points in the playoffs for 144 total points, while Fauchon had 103 regular-season points and 22 playoff points for 125 total points in the QMJHL with Rimouski Océanic. Protas, who recently finished his rookie year in North America with the OHL's Windsor Spitfires, is a finalist for the CHL Sportsman of the Year award. The 19-year-old won the William Hanley Trophy as the OHL's most sportsmanlike player, and is up for the CHL-wide award with WHL recipient Berkly Catton and QMJHL winnger Julius Sumpf. In 61 games with the Spitfires this season, Protas stunned with 50 goals and 74 assists for 124 points as one of the top performers league-wide. The CHL Awards will be presented on Friday.
