NHL.com profile on Danny Kristo:
NHL Central Scouting’s Jack Barzee
“Danny is a strong kid, but not a very big, physical kid. He has very quick feet and he’s very smart. He’s clever with the puck, he can set people up and he can finish. Sometimes he can take himself away from his best assets – thinking and skating and using his hands, and he tries to knock big guys down and he physically can’t, but he’s got that bite to his game. He has a real top-end level offensively, he could be a top-two line guy in the NHL someday and he’s going to play and be successful.”
Danny Kristo’s Q & A with McKeen’s Hockey Prosect:
Danny Kristo Interview
Danny Kristo
McKeen’s: With this being your draft year, how much are you thinking about the NHL draft?
Kristo: No matter how much you try not to think about it, it is in the back of everyone’s mind. I try not to think about it and just focus on the season and the task at hand but it is in my thoughts.
McKeen’s: How would you describe your game? What are your strengths and weaknesses?
Kristo: I would describe my game as an up-tempo, speed game. I think my strengths as a player are my speed, hands and vision. I would like to improve on playing more consistent and improving in the weight room.
McKeen’s: You were highly recruited, what was it about North Dakota that sold you and made you commit to their program?
Kristo: Growing up I lived in Indiana until I was about 13. I didn’t have a hockey team to grow up watching. My dad had some connections to the Sioux so growing up I was always a fan. When the time came to choose on a school which I thought would fit me, I thought everything about it was what I wanted.
McKeen’s: You seem to be a game breaker with the puck. Has the offensive side of the game always come natural to you?
Kristo: I always have had good hands and vision since I was little. Three years ago about when I grew, I picked up a lot of speed and my game took off. Growing up I was a goalscorer though.
McKeen’s: Who is the most difficult teammate of yours to beat in practice?
Kristo: The most difficult person to beat in practice is Ryan Grimshaw. He just battles all over the rink. He loves to play the body and loves being physical. He makes me better everyday competing against him.
McKeen’s: What goals have you set for yourself this season? Individually and as a team.
Kristo: This season I have not really set goals as in points or anything but to just play the best I can. My coach John Hynes is a really good coach and gets the best out of his players. My goal coming into this year was to be a go to guy when the crunch time of the game is on the line, if we are down a goal or up a goal I want to be on the ice. As a team we have high standards of winning the U-18 World Championship. In April, if we don’t come away with gold, I think the whole team will feel the two years we spent here was not complete.
McKeen’s: What is an average non-game day like with the USNTDP?
Kristo: Usually we all go to school like a regular kid. We get out of school at about 1:00 pm and head to the rink. We train and practice till about six every day. After that I’m usually off to homework or just hanging out with the guys.
McKeen’s: A scout comes to one of your games to check you out, what do you want that scout thinking about you when he leaves the rink?
Kristo: When a Scout leaves the rink after watching me play I would want him to think that I compete during the games and being a complete player.
McKeen’s: Do you model your game after any current players in the NHL?
Kristo: Either Ales Hemsky of the Edmonton Oilers or Maxim Afinegenov of the Buffalo Sabres.
McKeen’s: Do you have any quirky pre-game rituals or superstitions?
Kristo: Yes I do, I am a superstitious guy. I usually tape my stick in the lockerroom while listening to my favorite pre-game song. I repeat my favorite goal I have seen in my head over and over before I go out. Three minutes before we go on for warmups, I go out and just look at the wide open clean ice. I like to picture just playing the game and having fun.
McKeen’s: What’s your current goal song?
Kristo: Forty foot echo by Drift. It’s in the North Dakota highlight video from one of their seasons so I like it.