Capitals prospect Cristall named WHL Player of the Month for April
Calgary, Alta.— Spokane Chiefs forward Andrew Cristall has been named WHL Player of the Month for April, the Western Hockey League announced Thursday.
This is the second time Cristall has earned the monthly award this season, in addition to four weekly award wins.
The prized Washington Capitals prospect led all WHL skaters with 16 goals (including three game-winners) and 15 assists for 31 points in 11 games as the Spokane Chiefs inch closer to clinching a berth in the 2025 WHL Championship Series.
Cristall has yet to be held off the scoresheet in the 2025 WHL Playoffs with a 13-game point streak. April saw him register nine multipoint performances, including six that saw him bag three or more points and two hat tricks. The 5-foot-10, 183-pound winger kicked off the month with a hat trick, including the game-deciding goal, in Game 4 of Spokane’s first-round series against Vancouver to force the Giants to the brink of elimination. He followed it up with his first career six-point playoff match (2G-4A) to send the Giants packing.
The Burnaby, B.C. product shined again as the Chiefs battled the B.C. Division champion Victoria Royals in Round Two. Cristall registered three assists in regulation in Game 5 as the Chiefs roared back from a 4-1 deficit before scoring the overtime winner with two seconds left in the extra frame to give Spokane a 3-2 series lead. In Game 6, he tallied three assists for a second straight game before scoring the series-clinching goal with less than two minutes remaining in double overtime to send the Chiefs to the Western Conference Championship, where he buried a hat trick in Game 2.
Cristall leads all WHL skaters in postseason goals with 18, while sitting sixth in assists (16) and tying for second in points (34). He also ranks second in game-winning goals with three. He’s also hit an impressive milestone as one of only three active WHLers to surpass 50 career playoff points (23G-31A-54PTS).
The 19-year-old’s monster 132-point season (48G-84A) saw him capture the Bob Clarke Trophy as the WHL’s leading regular-season scorer. He’s also nominated for the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy, which is presented annually to the WHL Player of the Year and has been named to the WHL Western Conference First All-Star Team.
Earlier this season, Cristall also became the first WHLer in the 21st century to surpass the 400-point mark with 157 goals and 255 assists for 412 points in 248 regular-season games with the Kelowna Rockets and Spokane Chiefs.
He was drafted by the Washington Capitals in the second round of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft.
Spokane can complete a sweep of the Portland Winterhawks, clinch the Western Conference Championship, and set up a showdown against the Eastern Conference-champion Medicine Hat Tigers with a victory in Game 4 on Thursday, May 1 at 7:00 p.m. PST.
2024-25 WHL Player of the Month
September/October: Gavin McKenna, Medicine Hat Tigers
November: Andrew Cristall, Kelowna Rockets (Washington Capitals)
December: Oliver Tulk, Calgary Hitmen
January: Gavin McKenna, Medicine Hat Tigers
February: Berkly Catton, Spokane Chiefs (Seattle Kraken)
March: Gavin McKenna, Medicine Hat Tigers
