HERSHEY, PA — Andrew Cristall nearly made the Washington Capitals out of training camp last season. A year later, he immediately put himself back on Spencer Carbery’s radar in his first preseason appearance of 2025.

Suiting up in his first ever game at Giant Center, Cristall scored the Capitals’ first goal of the night and made his case for a full-time NHL roster spot.

While on a first-period power play, Cristall took a pass at that point and skated the puck deep into offensive zone before dishing to Hendrix Lapierre along the goal line. The move pushed a Flyers penalty killer too deep into his coverage, allowing Cristall to set up shop wide open at the top of the left circle. After getting the puck back, the 2023 second-round pick made no mistake beating Flyers goaltender Dan Vladar short side to the top corner.

“I thought we had a great entry,” Cristall said postgame. “I think Miro brought it in there, and Chiz (Declan Chisholm) found me on the left side, and then I did a little give-and-go with Lap (Hendrix Lapierre). I kind of knew he was going to feed me back and get the screen in front, so I tried to get it up and over the blocker.”

Cristall wasn’t planning to celebrate but the sold out crowd at Giant Center got him going.

“It was unbelievable,” he said of the atmosphere. “I was saying it’s only preseason, but after that first goal, I wasn’t planning on cellying, but it was a big roar, so I thought I’d give them something. It was pretty incredible.”

Cristall skated on the left side of the second line with Connor McMichael and Aliaksei Protas, who both had big games as well. McMichael scored a shorthanded goal, while Protas led the team with six shots on goal. Cristall finished the evening tied with Ivan Miroshnichenko for rubber put on net with three.

“(He) makes a big play on the power play right away, gives us a lead,” Carbery said of Cristall postgame. “He showed again what we saw last year. He does things that positively impact the game. And however it looks, he’s just creative. He finds space. He’s right place, right time. It’s another good game for him or a good start to his preseason games.”

Cristall comes into Capitals camp after a ridiculous junior season where he led the entire WHL in points — 132 (48g, 84a) in 57 regular season games — while splitting the season between the Kelowna Rockets and Spokane Chiefs. He later posted 41 points (21g, 20a) in 19 playoff games for the Chiefs. The 20-year-old prospect will play his first professional season either with the Capitals of the AHL’s Hershey Bears.

The Vancouver native joins a crowded and intense competition for open Capitals’ roster spots at forward — a battle that includes Hendrix Lapierre, Sonny Milano, Justin Sourdif, Ethen Frank, Ivan Miroshnichenko, and Bogdan Trineyev.

Milano and Lapierre’s performances early in the preseason have been some of the NHL’s best. Milano (4g, 2a) and Lapierre (1g, 5a) recorded 6 points in their first 2 games while Miroshnichenko and Trineyev have both scored goals.

“It’s good,” Cristall said. “I think everyone wants everyone to have success, and everyone is kind of firing on all cylinders. I mean, whether it’s a goal or something little like chipping a puck out, I think the little things matter a little bit more, but I’m happy to contribute.”

While such a difficult decision might cause anxiety for some head coaches, Carbery loves how much players are stepping up to try and claim their spot.

“Guys that are fighting for spots are playing at a real high level,” Carbery said. “And as a coach, as an organization, that’s what you want to see. They’re prepared. They’re ready for this moment. They want to earn a spot on this team. And, and they’re going and showing that out on the ice right now. And that’s, yeah, you just go down the list of the guys that are, that are fighting for their role on this team, they’re playing at a real high level.

“We’ve got four games to go, but there’s going to be some really, really difficult decisions.”

And Cristall hopes to be one of them.