Danny Kristo

Montreal landed the USNTDP team captain with the #56 overall pick in the second round. It was an off year for the program, but that still seems very late in the draft for the top rated U18 grad to be drafted. The past several drafts have seen several U18 team members taken in the top few picks, and generally four or five in the first round of each draft. The 2007-2008 team seemed to score by committee, without the usual standout star on board. That is the type of player Kristo seems to be, two way, team first guy, capable of taking on whatever role he is assigned. As such he seems like a fairly safe pick, he is a good skater, a hard worker, and is willing to get his nose dirty. That should guarantee him work on one of the bottom two lines, and he has at times flashed the offensive skills required to play higher in the lineup. The line on him sounds very similar to Christopher Higgins in 2002, at this point in time. The difference is that Higgins was a year older and coming off a fine freshman season at Yale,as well as a strong WJC tournament that vaulted him into the first half of the first round of the draft. Danny will have to serve a year in the USHL before he enrolls at the U of North Dakota, to finish his high school, but he was invited to the WJC selection camp. The time in major junior may prove beneficial to developing his offensive skills, as there will be far less room to work once he enters the WCHA.