BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Connor Bedard, the anticipated No. 1 overall pick in this month's draft, had high praise for fellow WHL forward Andrew Cristall when asked about him at last week's scouting combine in Buffalo, N.Y.
"Andrew, I think he's probably the smartest hockey player I've gotten to play with and watch this year," Bedard. "Just the things he's able to do out there and what he does with the puck, how well he creates offense is some of the best that I've seen. He's a special player and he's going to make a team really happy."
Could that team be the Penguins?
Projections and mock drafts vary wildly when it comes to where Cristall might go in the draft on June 28 in Nashville, Tenn. Recent lists from major ranking services have Cristall as high as No. 8 (DobberProspects) or as low as No. 25 (Sportsnet). There's no telling where the Penguins have Cristall on their own draft board, but he could conceivably still be an option for them with the 14th overall pick.
For what it's worth, Cristall did tell me at the combine last week that he met with the Penguins.
"It went really well," Cristall said of that meeting. "They have a really nice group in there. Being able to talk with Kyle Dubas for a minute or two in there is a little bit intimidating, but it was pretty fun."
Cristall, an 18-year-old wing, played in his second full season with the WHL's Kelowna Rockets this past season. He scored 39 goals and 56 assists in 54 games, leading the Rockets with a sizable 15-goal margin and a 16-point margin.
"I'm definitely a highly-offensive skilled forward," Cristall said of his game. "I think my brain, my hockey IQ sets me apart from other players. Whenever I go out there I try and be a difference maker. ... The best part (of his offensive game) is the ability that I have to slow down the game and find open lanes, whether it's a shot or pass."
So what has mock drafts and projections so divided on Cristall?
It's his size and his skating, primarily. Cristall is on the smaller side, listed at 5 foot 10, 175 by Central Scouting. He doesn't have exceptional speed to make up for what he lacks in size, and his stride itself needs some work.
"The main thing for me is to just keep building strength in my legs and get more power in my stride," Cristall said when I asked what his biggest focuses are. "Being a little bit smaller of a guy, you want to get that breakaway speed. I'm working on power-skating a lot this summer, so I'm expecting a big jump for next year."
Cristall said that his size was a topic in conversation in many of his interviews with NHL teams with the combine, but he didn't come away from the conversations too discouraged.
"It was a common question," Cristall said of what teams said of his size. "But then a lot of the teams talked to me about how many small guys are in the NHL. You know, you're looking at Jonathan Marchessault (5 foot 9, 183 pounds) right now playing his best hockey in the playoffs. So a lot of teams are pretty complimentary with how I've dealt through that adversity, but I think it definitely came up a few times."
Whichever team drafts Cristall is going to have a bit of a project on their hands, but he certainly has some high upside. Teams can work with a prospect to get stronger and to be a better skater, but it's hard to teach the hockey IQ Cristall already has at just 18.
If the Penguins wan to swing for the fences with their pick and go after someone with serious top-six potential, Cristall could be that player. He might just take a little longer to get there than some other options they'll likely have at No. 14.
This is the seventh story in a series of player profiles from the NHL's Scouting Combine in Buffalo, N.Y., focusing on potential first-round picks for the Penguins.