Kashawn Aitcheson is a left-handed defenseman who was born on September 21st, 2006, making him only about a week away from being eligible for the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. He was drafted in the third round, 50th overall by the Barrie Colts at the 2022 OHL Priority Selection. Aitcheson broke onto the scene in a big way last season, scoring eight goals and 39 points through 64 games with the Colts. To give you an idea of his playstyle, he also racked up 126 minutes in the sin bin.

At 6-1 198lbs, he is not the most physically imposing player on the ice, but he is not afraid to play with an edge and punish his opponents. These displays of violence do not summarize his game. Aitcheson consistently shows some decent two-way ability. He logs a lot of minutes on a nightly basis, featuring on both special teams units. Let’s take a close look at his game, how he stands out, and what interested teams can expect from him.

Kashawn Aitcheson Scouting Report

DOB: September 21, 2006
Height: 6-1
Weight: 198lbs
Position: LHD
Team: Barrie Colts (OHL)

Skating

By my eye, Kashawn Aitcheson is a mobile defenseman with a fairly smooth stride, is capable of completing crossovers, and can weave around opponents with some speed. I would not call him “best in class” in this regard, but given his playstyle and likely projection, his skating should not harm him. It allows him to pinch and transport the puck up the ice while also being able to recover and get back to position on defense. 

In the video below, Aitcheson carries the puck from behind his own net and takes it to the o-zone blueline, showing off his speed and skating abilities for a long period.

In this regard, he could definitely do work to improve his overall skating by adding some more explosiveness and speed as well as smoothing out his edges. This would give him a lot more mobility and aid him in his versatility. 

Transition

A big skill of Aitcheson’s is his transition play, where he is capable of making breakout passes to kick-start rushes. Last season, I noticed on many occasions his ability to make stretch passes into the neutral zone Admittedly, I have seen a little less of that in the early part of this season. Conversely, he is able to move the puck himself if need be, typically doing so when the ice opens up on the power-play and 4-on-4 play.

This clip is a good example of the aforementioned skill, Aitcheson is able to block an opponent’s pass and steal it, then dump it out and allow his team to take possession in the offensive zone in short order.

Consistently, Aitcheson is the defense partner skating back for puck retrievals, where he does a good job with shoulder checks and pre-scans before making a quick puck play to his defense partner or to a forward to break it out of his zone. In the clip below, he displays this skill well and leads to a defensive zone exit.

Aitcheson’s aggressive style can help him in defending the rush and can sometimes help him deny zone entries. This is an area of his game where increased mobility would help in this regard, as he has all the tools to be an adept rush/transition defender.

Offense

I already touched on his offense a little bit with his transition game, as Aitcheson often kickstarts rushes and sometimes even carries the puck into the offensive zone himself. However, as a defender in the offensive zone, Aitcheson is tasked with manning the point, attempting to keep the puck in the zone and cycling the puck to keep it moving. At times, he can even use his stickhandling to draw in opposing defenders and open up space to complete passes. This part of his game, if properly developed, would definitely help his future projection, and going forward, I would like to see a little more consistency at this.

Aitcheson possesses a powerful shot that he is not afraid to use, but more importantly, he knows when to use it. Although there were some times it was not the best option available, he did opt to pass the puck more often than not. To me, this is a good sign, as in most cases, defensemen have a very low chance of scoring from the point. When he did take shots, however, he often varied his position of attack, moving up to the faceoff circle for a one-timer which has resulted in a few goals in my viewings.

Aitcheson’s offensive vision and creativity show up in flashes, signaling the possibility for him to produce at the next level. He has the awareness to know when to move up in the offensive zone and can complete slot passes to create chances. He consistently makes small plays that help to develop offense. At this stage, he does not project to log consistent power-play minutes and would likely be looked upon to provide secondary scoring at 5-on-5.

Defense

I already spoke about him defending in transition but in-zone, Kashawn Aitcheson uses a combination of his body and stick to try and challenge shooters. He does this by attempting to keep opposing players towards the outside, as well as attempting to poke pucks free and create turnovers by putting his stick and body in lanes. His defensive stick is a skill of his that should be able to translate well to higher levels and should give him a framework to build on to be relied upon defensively.

He is a player who likes to protect the net front by tying up sticks and overpowering the opposition. This trait will definitely be used a lot by coaches as he moves up the ranks, assuming his physical strength can keep up. 

Physicality

Kashawn Aitcheson’s physicality is arguably the most intriguing attribute in his skillset. Whether it’s him sacrificing the body to block a shot, throwing a hit, or engaging in net-front battles, he displays a promising physical game at the Major Junior level. I have no doubt that this will endear him to whichever team calls his name next June.

Here, you can see him line an unassuming opponent up and throw a big open ice hit:

However, a lot of Aitcheson’s physicality comes after the whistle in net-front scrums, and taking late shots at opponents. He is capable of getting under the opposing team’s skin and punishing players but he also shows a lack of discipline at times. His hockeyfights.com page shows that he is unafraid to answer the bell, featuring 10 fights since the beginning of last season.

Conclusion

Kashawn Aitcheson has all the tools to develop into a physical two-way defenseman at the NHL level. I’d expect his best projection to be a second-pair blueliner. With a relatively high floor, it seems hard to envision him not getting at least a cup of coffee in the NHL. He does a lot of things well, but the key for him is his consistency and further developing some of his attributes to better aid him going forward (ex. Improving his mobility will help him to both defend and join the rush).

One major area that I would like to see Aitcheson develop is his physicality. It is a trait that many people like but I would like to see him use his physicality in productive ways more often. Engaging in net-front battles would be good and I would like him to use his physicality to separate pucks from opposing players consistently. As of right now, he uses it in ways that result in him logging a lot of penalty minutes, and when you’re one of only six dressed defenders, it can be a burden on your team if you are spending valuable time in the box night-in and night-out and putting your team short-handed.

To summarize, his tools alone should take him far, but how he develops and adds additional skills will be what dictates exactly how far he goes. 

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