Prospect Overview: Kashawn Aitcheson

A series on prospects in the 2025 NHL draft

Credit: neutralzone.com

With the NHL draft on the horizon, I’m going to take a look at a few players who are expected to be available when the Red Wings step up to the podium with the 13th overall pick. While the odds of drafting a true impact player grow longer the further back you draft from the 1st overall pick, there is reasonable agreement among those who follow prospects closely on which players are expected to go between 10th-20th overall. The expectation when drafting in this position to get at least a player capable of having a decent NHL career, if not becoming a true impact player.

While some guys get drafted earlier than where they were projected to go, I figure that taking a look at a few prospects in that 10-20 range may give us some insight into the guys who may be most intriguing to the Detroit scouting staff. To make matters more interesting, there doesn’t appear to be an obvious European prospect for Detroit to select with the 13th overall pick, so it’s truly anyone’s guess what the Red Wings will do here.

With that being said, let’s take our first look at a prospect who may be available with the #13 pick in the upcoming NHL draft.

Prospect Review: Kashawn Aitcheson

To kick things off, we’ll take a look at a few of Kashawn Aitcheson’s games this season. Aitcheson is a left defenseman who plays for Barrie in the Ontario Hockey League. The OHL produces loads of NHL quality talent, so it’s worthwhile reviewing a few games to examine Aitcheson’s strengths and weaknesses.

Kashawn Aitcheson Minors and Juniors Stats

Credit: Elite Prospects

Aitcheson has an intriguing combo of size, skating, offensive production, and physical play. I’ve seen some comparisons to Dion Phaneuf and I can definitely see the similarities. Let’s start by rating his skills.

Kashawn Aitcheson Skill Ratings

Skating: 7 / 10

In the Owen Sound game clipped below, Kashawn didn’t really show off his skating ability. He mostly found open ice and demonstrated some nice short bursts when necessary; otherwise he seemed content to let attackers get behind him while setting his defensive posture. He relies heavily on his stick to break up dangerous attacks, and that occasionally results in a skater getting around him.

However in the Brampton game clipped below, Aitcheson’s skating was on display and it was impressive. He was fully capable of jumping into the rush but also getting back to break up a dangerous scoring chance on the counter attack.

Brampton got off to a strong start in this game, but Barrie pulled ahead and, when it came time to close out the game, Kashawn showed off his full arsenal of high-end skating, solid puck retrieval skills, and the ability to close out shooters to prevent shots from making it on target.

So while I don’t have concerns about Kashawn’s ability as a skater, he does seem to pick and choose when to use that skill. As mentioned previously, he can go through stretches where he relies heavily on his very good and active stick which can allow attackers to occasionally skate around him. As he faces more talented stick handlers at higher levels, his heavy reliance on his stick for defensive play may prove less effective.

In the Owen Sound game clipped below, one of his passes along the boards was intercepted in the neutral zone, and he was slow to defend the counter attack. Note how the attacker along the boards gets past him to join the rush.

Here’s one example of how an attacker gets around him before he uses his stick to break up the scoring chance:

There are numerous examples of him not tracking back quickly when the opponent is on the counter attack. In this example, the shooter gets a clean shot that glances off the crossbar:

Here’s a clip as the power play winds down that demonstrates how he can struggle when being pressured as the last line of defense. This is an area that needs to be cleaned up:

When he’s committed to using his wheels, he has no problem covering attackers. Here is but one example in the closing seconds of the second period:

So while there are no concerns about how well he can skate, I wonder how well his heavy reliance on his stick will work at higher levels against plus skaters with plus stickhandling skills? He also seems to go through stretches where he doesn’t use his skating, particularly when facing a counter attack. This is an area of his game that will need refining during his development.

Gap Control: 6 / 10

Kashawn Aitcheson tends to handle attackers in one of three ways: one is to let the skater get behind him when playing the puck deep in order to give him advantageous defensive positioning; another is to use his stick to break up the attack; and finally, he will use his skating and size to break up the attack either with positioning or a big hit to separate the attacker from the puck.

One deficiency that stood out is Kashawn doesn’t seem to track skaters well around his own net. On this Owen Sound goal, he doesn’t follow play behind his net or position himself to break up the centering pass. The pucks is delivered without any resistance to a wide open attacker who scores easily.

Aitcheson could do nothing about the eventual goal, but his lack of gap discipline to defend the pass created a high quality scoring chance.

Here’s a clip of him doing a better job defending the front of his own goal. A poke check from the goalie helps clear the puck:

A big part of Aitcheson’s effectiveness is how positionally aware he is of covering the post. For the most part he’s looking to break up those passes, and I would consider his awareness to be advanced. Here’s an example of him covering the back post and breaking up a pass attempt:

Brampton tried on several occasions to center passes from behind the post late in the game, but Kashawn simply wasn’t having any of it:

In this battle between first round draft picks, Kashawn Aitcheson gets the nod over Porter Martone, who decides to go to the front of the net and gets nothing but pain for his effort. Perhaps Kashawn wished Martone a happy Canadian Thanksgiving in between those haymakers he was throwing at the end of the game.

The one concern with guys whose calling card is a mean streak is they often pull themselves out of position looking for the big hit. I didn’t see that at all with Aitcheson, which is impressive for an 18 year old with his physical make up. He knows when to battle and when to stick to playing hockey.

Board Battles: 6 / 10

Kashawn Aitcheson has some projectionable features that lend themselves to being good along the boards. For one, he’s thick, so while he’s not the tallest defender, his physical attributes allow him to more than hold his own against opponents along the boards. Another prominent feature which is mentioned throughout is how active he is with his stick. Given his long reach and strong hand eye coordination, he’s quite capable of knocking the puck loose, collecting it, then making the safe play.

With that being said, he doesn’t seem to engage as much as you’d like along the boards. As mentioned previously, he’s often willing to let the attacker collect the puck along the boards so that he can position himself advantageously. This will become a problem at the NHL level if he doesn’t make more of an effort to separate the skater from the puck along the boards.

Here’s a clip against Brampton where he’s looking for his one timer from the circle as his team struggles to win board battles. Kashawn neither engages in the battle or gets back into defensive position, which results in a high quality counter for Brampton:

To give Aitcheson credit, he does get back and protects his own goal, but this was a very high quality scoring chance for the Steelheads.

Shot: 7 / 10

Aitcheson loves to set up near the right face off circle, call for the puck, then blast a quick and accurate one timer. His shot at the junior level is highly effective. Here’s an example from the Owen Sound game, where he registered a Gordie Howe hat trick which included this power play goal:

Here’s an example from the Brampton game on October 25th:

Here’s yet another example where he sets up shop and gets a quality shot on target that the goalie saves:

The one potential concern with Aitcheson on the power play is he tends to set up fairly low in the attacking zone, which enables more short handed counter attacks. However it’s quite common for defenders to engage in the offensive zone while up a man, so his heavy involvement on the power play will likely be a balance of risk vs reward as he moves up to higher levels of play.

The only real question with his shot is how often he’ll be able to beat NHL caliber goaltenders? With this shot, it’s right at the goaltender:

Passing: 6 / 10

While Kashawn Aitcheson doesn’t have high end puck or passing skills, he’s very good at using his body to box out the forechecker to give himself time to find an open skater. His accuracy is very good on shorter passes, but less accurate on longer passes, which is to be expected. Here’s a nice attempt at a stretch pass after collecting the puck in front of his own net:

His passing can become predictable, as was the case on this turnover along the boards. Whether this is just Barrie’s preferred way to break out of their defensive zone or simply Aitcheson becoming a bit too comfortable with what is generally a safe zone exit, the end result is a quality scoring chance for the opposition:

In this clip, he passes the puck to his defensive partner but evacuates the zone, leaving the defender to fend for himself while being forechecked by two attackers. You’d like to see him recognize the over-commitment by the opponent and make himself available as an outlet:

Here’s a clip of him finding a teammate in scoring position near the right circle who puts a shot on net. There aren’t many of these clips, which again suggests Aitcheson isn’t going to be an assist merchant as he works his way up to the pro level:

This shot results in the Kobe assist, as the goalie spills the rebound on Aitcheson’s shot and a teammate buries the rebound.

Communication: 8 / 10

Rating communication can be challenging as you can’t really hear what is being said when reviewing game footage, but you can see Kashawn regularly pointing to his teammates while defending promising attacks from the opposition, which suggests he has solid communication skills. You can also see him looking back over his shoulder from time to time to see what’s going on behind him, which suggests strong situational awareness. Finally, he wears a letter for Barrie, so add that all up and you have a guy who would seem to have solid communication skills on the ice.

Defense: 8 / 10

I’ve expressed some concerns about Aitcheson’s decision-making in specific scenarios, and it’s reasonable to expect it to improve over time. Here’s another example where he gets caught up the ice in no man’s land, not truly committed to forechecking Porter Martone, but also out of position which results in an attacker getting behind him for a quality scoring chance:

While I’m not sure how well Aitcheson’s offense will travel up the hockey hierarchy - his shot may become too predictable at higher levels - his heavy time on the ice while defending a lead speaks volumes. Against Owen Sound and in both of the Brampton games, he received a heavy number of shifts in the third period to defend a one-goal lead.

Here’s an example of him breaking up a pass in the neutral zone before tracking back to break up an attack headed towards his goal:

In the Brampton game, he received plenty of ice time while down two skaters, and he did a nice job coming out to close out shooters, which resulted in shots placed wide of the mark.

This suggests to me that at a bare minimum he could be a quality defensive defenseman and PKer. There are plenty of clips of him doing work while short handed, here is but one of them:

Physical Play: 10 / 10

With this rating, you may think Kashawn Aitcheson is continuously looking for opportunities to deliver bone crushing hits, but you’d be wrong. He’s more than capable of delivering those bone jarring hits, and he eagerly jumps into skirmishes that brew when tempers get short. But his refinement in deciding when to engage in physical play is impressive, particularly given how much Barrie rely on him being on the ice to close out games late.

The one advanced aspect of physical play from Aitcheson is his play in front of his own goal. He’s exceptional at tying attackers up and is generally very good at preventing cross crease passes with designs on backdoor goals. On the penalty kill, he’s a presence in front of his own goal, owning that patch of real estate. Here’s an example of him holding his own in front of his goal:

In the October 25th Brampton game, the Steelheads went after Aitcheson early on, likely trying to get him off his game if not in the penalty box. He took the physical play directed at him in stride and stuck to his game. He’s cut his PIM by nearly 1/3 this season, indicating he’s doing a good job picking his spots. Here’s a good example from the Owen Sound game:

The hit resulted in a fight, but his combo of strong physical play combined with the discipline needed to mostly stay out of the box is impressive. Here’s another hit to break up an attempt to get set up in his defensive zone:

Again, it’s impressive how well he picks his spots and makes solid hits. This is one of the true stand out skills that he excels at as an 18 year old.

Overall Rating: 7.25 / 10

If Kashawn Aitcheson is expected to contribute at the NHL level in the 2025-26 season I think it would be doing him a disservice. He has all the elements that could lead to him being a big contributor in all three phases of the game. However his defensive game needs some refinement, mostly in areas that should improve with consistent playing time against easier competition than what the NHL would afford.

Making more consistent use of his skating, particularly when facing counter attacks would make him a much better defender, as would working on winning board battles, which will be essential for becoming an impact defender at the NHL level. Finally, getting his gap control dialed in would help, even though it isn’t an obvious issue for him at the OHL level. Generally speaking, he tends to get himself in proper position to defend his net from attacks or passes, but his future as an NHL defender may be better served by tightening his coverage of the attacker and reclaiming the puck along the boards.

I’d be happy if Detroit drafted him with the 13th pick for several reasons: first, he’d fill a clear need so long as he reached his ceiling; second, it would give Detroit 4 very good all-around defenders in Seider, Edvinsson, Sandin-Pelikka, and Aitcheson; and third, if Detroit is going to be elite in one area of play it’s most likely to be defense so Aitcheson would potentially add strength to an area where Detroit is already looking to be very strong for the foreseeable future.

Final Thoughts: Kashawn Aitcheson

I’ve only had the chance to review a few games and I’m not a professional scout, so take this for what little it’s worth. In reviewing Kashawn Aitcheson’s games from this past season, I find his mix of attributes intriguing but with a few pretty big caveats.

His skating is as advertised. He doesn’t use his skating as much as he should, as he can definitely skate. While he’s not an edgework maestro and doesn’t need to become one, his inconsistency in hauling ass when defending a counter attack is an issue he needs to address.

Not much to suggest he’ll be an assist merchant. While Kashawn does generate assists (0.5 per game this past season), I didn’t see much in the way of passes that led directly to shots on goal. My assumption is many of his assists are secondary. I don’t view him as a power play QB.

Solid power play contributor on his off side. Kashawn Aitcheson can pass and has a nice one-timer from his office near the right faceoff dot. The big concern is how well he’ll be able to score once teams know to defend that spot? His scoring isn’t varied enough to feel confident he’ll be an offensive defenseman in the NHL.

Needs to polish his defense in his own zone. As mentioned regarding his skating, he can get caught up ice and is occasionally lackadaisical when tracking skaters around his own net. He also needs to work on engaging in board battles rather than sitting back and relying on his twig as his primary tool. With that being said, he’s very effective in front of his own net, particularly on the PK. In the two games I reviewed where he was on the ice with #4OA prospect Porter Martone, Kashawn Aitcheson comfortably held his own.

Good, active stick. It’s understandable why Kashawn Aitcheson relies so much on his hockey stick as it has served him very well. His hand eye coordination is a real strength.

Impactful physical play. I’m impressed with how restrained he is with this physical game. He picks his spots and I didn’t see one decision worthy of criticism at all.

Top end projection: Top 4 Defenseman

If Kashawn Aitcheson can iron out some of his wobbles on defense, he could become a top 4 d-man who contributes on the power play and penalty kill. He’s already a superb PK’er in the OHL and closes out games by being heavily shifted over the back half of the third period. His release on his shot is high quality, and he is good at finding quiet spots to unleash his one timer. His work against Porter Martone this season suggests he’s capable of containing high caliber attackers.

Low end projection: Bottom Pairing Defenseman

There’s a chance his shot simply isn’t varied enough to be a real weapon at the NHL level and that he can’t quite iron out the deficiencies in his defensive play. If that’s the case he will almost certainly be a quality stay at home #5/#6 d-man who can play big PK minutes. There’s value in that, but it’s questionable how much value there would be if he’s selected in the top half of the first round, which is where he’s likely to go given his intriguing toolkit.