On Friday night, Andrew Cristall’s WHL season came to an end when the Kelowna Rockets lost to the Prince George Cougars.
Now, just three days after losing to the CHL’s top-ranked team, Cristall will join the AHL’s top-ranked team ahead of their push for a Calder Cup repeat.
The Washington Capitals announced today that the 18-year-old, who led the Rockets with 111 points in 62 games this season, has been reassigned from Kelowna to the Hershey Bears.
2024 #WHLPlayoffs ➡️ 2024 #CalderCup Playoffs!#ALLCAPS prospect and @Kelowna_Rockets forward Andrew Cristall will be joining @TheHersheyBears for their post-season push.
— The WHL (@TheWHL) April 22, 2024
The Bears are the AHL affiliate of the Capitals, who drafted Cristall 40th overall last summer, and are also the defending AHL champions and a favourite again this year.
Hershey is a perennial powerhouse in the AHL and it showed again this year, as the Bears, like Cristall, earned 111 points during the regular season and was first in the league by a wide margin.
With Cristall now on the Bears roster, there are 11 former Rockets participating in the Calder Cup playoffs in addition to the eight alumni who are in the NHL playoffs.
Here’s a list of all 19 one-time Rockets who are vying for a title in the NHL or AHL this spring:
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