F Andrew Cristall - Kelowna Rockets, WHL (2023, 40th, WSH)
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FourQuarters
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I don't think so. Cristall isn't a shooter.
In what way is he not a shooter? He averages 4 shots per game, is almost goal per game, and has a lethal shot.
FourQuarters
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No doubt he is a goal scorer, but I don't think "shooter" is the most accurate description.
e.g. he tends to find a way for cross-ice pass and hardly successfully fire a one-timer in PP like Ovi or Matthews, those typical shooter. He likes to bury the second chance, or trick the goalie in front of net, it's also the most impressive part of his game IMO.
BUT I can't say what kind of play he is, he is different this season than he was last season, he could play in different ways to adapt different linemates and lead to win.
Lavar Ball
Neva Lost
Artorius Horus T
sincerety
Gem, in what way?
.He is like strange hockey version of Brazilian football goal call
landy92mack29
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Yeah I love the Rockets announcer. Comp I previously said a Zegras+Perfetti mix
NickH8
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It's junior hockey, have fun with itGem, in what way?
He is like strange hockey version of Brazilian football goal call
FourQuarters
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Hard to say.
But his favorite player is Kane and he said he is looking at Kyle Connor, though I don't think they are the most accurate comparisons.
- Apr 27, 2005
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What is it about Cristall that makes pundits so reluctant to include him in the upper echelon of players for this draft? On paper his size and production compare favourably to Benson and it’s not exactly a small sample size. I haven’t seen him play yet but is there something about his game that scouts might question about translating to the NHL? Skating concerns or a non 200 foot game?
I would also like to know. Benson's 2-way game is really better. But everything else skating, qi, skills are similar and you can't ignore Cristall's production playing in a much lower time. And yet Benson is even ranked in the top 5 on some lists. I think they should be pretty close.
It won't hold. Bedard will at some point create a sizable gap. But what Cristall is doing is surreal and even more surreal is seeing that he is not projected in the top 15 of many lists, while Benson is a borderline top 5.
FourQuarters
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Benson's production is great, just he didn't get a a lot of pp time. He only have 5 powerplay points, meanwhile Cristall has 12, Bedard has 20.
I think size and worse 2-way game hold Cristall back, but he is improving it recently, played well on PK when team needed him to do. And defenses need more time to develop, scout may not sure if he could still work his magic when facing more matured, bigger Dmen.
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landy92mack29
Registered User
It's simply scouts were sleeping and not doing their jobs well, internet scouts don't really matter. Re PP time Benson is getting 3:19/game while Cristall is 3:32/game so not that. Bedard is getting 4:57/game though. Total ice time is Bedard 22:15, Benson 19:45 and Cristall 18:30.
FourQuarters
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wow His TOI is much lower than I assumed. I feel like he plays 30mins every night…
landy92mack29
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He doesn't play much on the pk while Benson does otherwise they play basically the same
TOI from instat
FourQuarters
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He did play a lot long shift, even double shift, yah PK is a factor, but still a little lower than I assumed.
And I assumed ice 1st line would eat more ice time, so I didn't realize Benson's TOI is so high.
Steve Kournianos
@thedraftanalyst
Giroux was nowhere near as physical, but there are similarities. Plus he wear No. 28.
I've locked in on him the last two days and watched a bunch of games, and I actually think he's got more flaws than being reported.
1. He's a bit of a cherrypicker/floater. He's usually the last guy on the backcheck and first guy to fly the zone. There were at least three games I watched his shifts where I thought Kelowna was on a PK because he was so late getting back to join his unit and pitch in.
2. Although he's physical and likes to finish his checks, sometimes his timing is off and it leads to opposing OMR's. That also might explain why he's late on the backcheck.
3. Passing is more inaccurate or forced than I expected for a kid who's scoring so much. At first I thought I was just nitpicking, but there was one stretch in a blowout loss to Kamloops where he had successive shifts of forced passes that led to turnovers, and some were just inexplicable. Then I watched the PG game where he had 4 primaries and even in that game, he was overly fancy when it wasn't necessary and turned pucks over, sometimes more than once on one shift.
4. Quality shot selection is a little inconsistent. He takes a lot of attempts. I know someone pointed out he averages only four shots a game, but those are on net. He'd probably average more if he simplified things and didn't overdo it with the fancy attempts or low-pct shots.
5. He's not a very good PKer and is rarely used, which is fine if he's known as an offense-first winger. But when I see him on the PK, I see a kid who cares little about shutting lanes down or protecting the weak side and more emphasis on stealing pucks for SH breaks, which leads to overcommitting. Again, there's a time and place for that.
Overall, I was slightly disappointed considering his prolific scoring clip. I definitely expected more considering all the hype he's generated from scoring, but TBH, I don't think he's top-10 caliber at this point. In fact, I can kinda see why CSB gave him a B grade.
The bolded would apply to Bedard as well. Part of it has to be that their teams rely so heavily on them for offense that their coaches are fine with them cheating a bit defensively to create chances the other way. The fact that he is +10 on a team with a +2 goal differential indicates that the juice has been worth the squeeze at this level. Obviously it is a concern if that is the only way he plays and doesn't have the IQ to play sound defensively when he isn't "the man" on a team. Does anyone recall what his game looked like at the Hlinka in regards to 200ft hockey and shot selection?
Steve Kournianos
@thedraftanalyst
I considered quality of teammates and usage. My takeaway is that Cristall makes too many unforced errors regardless of score or time remaining, and has longer periods of ineffectiveness, whereas Bedard seems to learn quickly from his mistakes and makes up for it with an out-of-this-world shift.
I agree! It is clear that Cristall leaves something to be desired defensively. But on Hlinka his defensive game was passable. The fact that Kelowna needs him so much offensively is perhaps the reason why there is this indifference. I believe that if the team was better and he could worry less about scoring, we wouldn't criticize his defensive play and offensive waste so much (which I believe is more the result of him wanting to do too much since he is practically the only one who does something).
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