Only two defencemen in the Ontario Hockey League scored more goals in 2024-25 than Kashawn Aitcheson with 26: Zayne Parekh (33) and Sam Dickinson (29), who were drafted ninth and 11th, respectively, in the 2024 NHL Draft. Only six fellow OHL members of his 2025 draft class eclipsed that total as well. Considering he scored eight the previous season, it was a big leap in his production.
Date of Birth: September 21, 2006
Birthplace: Toronto, Ontario
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 198 lbs.
Position: Defence
Shoots: Left
Team: Barrie Colts (OHL)
All the while he was posting his 59 points in 64 games, he was racking up 88 minutes in penalties, which was about 50% lower than his total the previous season. There’s a fiery physical player behind all of the offence that Aitcheson produced in his draft year.
Strengths
One reason why he posted offensive totals closer to what you would expect from a forward is that he plays like one on offence. The moment it’s clear that the puck is going to be in his team’s possession, he’s not just heading up the ice, but often going deep into the zone to help the attack. On the power play, he even plays in the Leon Draisaitl spot below the right faceoff dot.
He’s accurate enough to find success from that sharp angle, but the most impressive attribute of his offensive game is how effortlessly he can elevate the puck. Nearly every one of his 26 goals were sent to the top corner, and that should help him carry his exceptional finishing skills to the professional ranks.
He can play the role of playmaker as well and attract a defender to himself before making a quick deke to open a lane and sending the puck to his teammate. Because he’s often deep in the zone, he finds those teammates in great scoring positions. Not only did his 26 goals lead the Barrie Colts in 2024-25, he was also two off the team assist lead.
Defensively he prefers to cut opposing rushes short in the neutral zone with a hit, and obliterated several forwards with open-ice hits this season. A significant portion of his penalty minutes came from fights that resulted after laying crushing hits on players in the middle of ice.
Weaknesses
Below-average skating skills are the biggest threat to him translating his game to the NHL. His anticipation and offensive instincts allowed him to overcome that limitation, and will still help him compensate, but he won’t be able to join the offence nearly as often with and versus faster players.
A lack of mobility limits him defensively. If a forward is able to get past his check at the blue line, Aitcheson is not quick enough to catch attackers on the cycle. An assertive player on the offensive side, he’s left to chase the play in his own zone, which led to some long shifts around his own net. It doesn’t help his cause that he’s often looking for a quick takeaway to launch the offence, which can just end up taking him out of position. When the puck does come to a halt, however, his good hands and size help him win board battles.
If it’s not a quick counter-attack, his skating flaws prevent him from leading the rush out over his own blue line. He clearly has the hand skills to be a puck-mover, but unless the skating improves he will be forced to hand off transition duties to his teammates.
Rankings
Elite Prospects: #18
FC Hockey: #12
Hockey Prospect: #21
McKeen’s: #15
Bob McKenzie (TSN): #14
Corey Pronman (The Athletic): #11
Scott Wheeler (The Athletic): #13
As a 198-pound defenceman who likes to land big hits, there will be a lot of interest in just the physical aspect of his game in this draft. Given just how much his offence improved form last season to this, there’s probably more to unlock in that part of his game, which will intrigue a different scouting department. That versatility should see him go quite high in the draft, and there’s near universal agreement from the various scouting services that he will go in the middle third of the opening round.
Projection
The team that drafts him will know that he’ll have several years to work on his shortcomings, but he already has the build to compete even with NHL players. His development in his own zone will mostly be tactical, and perhaps just the realization that shorter presences in his own zone will mean more chances on offence will lead to his biggest improvement.
Ideally his NHL team will have a member of the development staff to help him work on his skating. That’s the one factor that could prevent him from achieving all that he’s capable of, and every incremental improvement would have big benefits in all three zones.
It’s unlikely that any skating improvements are going to turn him into a great transition player, so he will need to be paired with someone who is. To get the best out of his offensive play, which comes alive when he’s below the top of the circles, he will also need to play in a structured environment with forwards who can rotate back to cover defensively.
His talents would be wasted on a conservative team that forces him to stay near the blue line and try to create from there. In that case he would only get to display his offence in power-play situations, which could still allow him to contribute at the NHL level, but the team that likes him enough to select him will probably have a more ambitious vision of him connecting all of his talents together.
