Chiefs land Washington Capitals prospect Cristall in Wednesday blockbuster
Spokane, Wash.- Could a Catton-Cristall connection carry the Spokane Chiefs to their first WHL Championship in 16 years?
General Manager Matt Bardsley sure hopes so.
The Chiefs have acquired bombastic forward Andrew Cristall from the Kelowna Rockets in a blockbuster deal.
Kelowna has picked up 17-year-old Hayden Paupanekis, a first and third-round pick in the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft, a first-rounder in 2027, and second and sixth-round picks in 2026 as the team gears up to host the 2026 Memorial Cup.
Cristall is on pace for a second-straight 100-plus-point season.
“We are very excited to add Andrew to our organization,” Bardsley said. “He is a dynamic forward who is a threat to score or create offense every time he is on the ice. His experience in the league along with 20 games of playoff experience will be a welcomed addition to our team. When speaking with the Washington Capitals, they spoke highly of Andrew and the progression in his overall game. We would like to welcome Andrew and his family to the Chiefs organization.”
The highly-touted Washington Capitals prospect has potted 26 goals and 34 assists for 60 points and a +22 rating in just 28 contests this season.
Turn up the AC because it’s getting hot in here 🥵
Three multi-point games on the week push @Kelowna_Rockets forward Andrew Cristall’s point streak to 12 games, taking home Tempo WHL Player of the Week honours!
📝 | https://t.co/poYQxPt4BD@Capitals | #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/b5IUZPxRVX
— The WHL (@TheWHL) November 25, 2024
Cristall sits second in the WHL points race, fifth in goals and leads all skaters in points per game (2.14).
The 19-year-old has only been held off the scoresheet four times but has six games where he’s netted four or more points, highlighted by a three-goal, two-assist effort against Regina and a one-goal, four-assist outing versus Vancouver.
Since being drafted by Kelowna with the eighth overall pick in the 2020 WHL Prospects Draft, Cristall has solidified himself as an all-time Rockets great.
The Burnaby, B.C. product has racked up 135 goals and 205 assists for a whopping 340 points in 219 regular-season games.
He leaves the Okanagan sitting second in all-time franchise scoring and was just one assist away from tying Brett McLean’s all-time assists marker, set back in 1999.
Andrew Cristall is UNSTOPPABLE!@Kelowna_Rockets | @Capitals | #ALLCAPS | #WHLHatTricks pic.twitter.com/JrXb5SjCKq
— The WHL (@TheWHL) December 1, 2024
Cristall nabbed WHL B.C. Division Second-Team All-Star honours in 2024 and was named a First-Team All-Star in 2023.
Washington selected the 5-foot-10, 183-pound winger with the 40th overall pick in the second round of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft and signed the youngster to a three-year, entry-level deal just weeks later.
On the international stage, Cristall has won gold with Canada at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, where he put up six points (1G-5A) in five games. He also earned a bronze medal at the 2023 IIHF World U18 Championship with another six-point (2G-4A) performance.
He brings a potent scoring punch to a Chiefs squad that already has an affinity for filling the net.
Spokane, which sits second in the cutthroat U.S. Division, ranks fourth in goals-scored among all WHL clubs, led by Captain and Seattle Kraken Berkly Catton (14G-33A) and veteran Shea Van Olm (28G-23A).
On the other side, Kelowna lands young centreman Hayden Paupanekis and a trove of important draft picks.
Paupanekis, from Winnipeg, Man., has 11 goals and 12 assists for 24 points in 39 games this season.
Parr nets the first Chiefs goal of 2025 🚨
Cam Parr ties this one up with help from Hayden Paupanekis and Saige Weinstein at 8:10 in the second!#GoChiefsGo pic.twitter.com/MfYlzaoORt
— Spokane Chiefs (@spokanechiefs) January 3, 2025
The 6-foot-4, 198-pound forward is in his sophomore WHL season after being drafted by Spokane in the third round of the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft.
“We got a great young player (Paupanekis) coming back,” Rockets General Manager and President Bruce Hamilton said. “We got the opportunity to help stock the cupboard with these draft picks that will allow us the chance to be active in the spring and summer. Paupanekis will play in our top six, he’s a big guy out of Winnipeg that we are really excited about getting. He’s the player we wanted in the trade, and I think he and the picks we got are going to translate into real good players for us in the near future.”
Paupanekis has already surpassed his rookie season totals and owns a career record of 44 points (21G-23A) in 101 games. He’s also on a five-game point streak.
Spokane (26-13-0-0) will face the league-leading Everett Silvertips (28-5-3-2) in a must-see showdown on Friday, January 10 at 7:05 p.m. PST.
Kelowna (14-18-2-1) also hosts the B.C. Division-leading Prince George Cougars (23-10-3-2) on Friday, January 10, with a 7:05 p.m. PST puck drop at Prospera Place.