2025 Draft Profile: Kashawn Aitcheson

There is a thought that throwback, old-school defencemen aren’t as important in today’s NHL.  But Kashawn Aitcheson is a combination of that old-school player with enough skill to be an impactful player for an NHL team down the road, warranting consideration at Montreal’s two first-round selections if he’s still on the board.

Bio

Defenceman
Shoots: Left
DOB: September 21, 2006
Height: 6’1.5″
Weight: 199 pounds

Rankings

Elite Prospects: 18
Future Considerations: 12
Daily Faceoff: 11
The Hockey News (Ferrari): 46
The Hockey News (Kennedy): 12
TSN (Bob McKenzie): 18
TSN (Craig Button): 15
NHL Central Scouting (N. American): 9
Sportsnet (Cosentino): 19
Sportsnet (Bukala): 14
Recruit Scouting: 35
Draft Prospects Hockey: 20
Smaht Scouting: 53
McKeen’s Hockey: 15

Statistics

Scouting Report

Over his first two years with OHL Barrie, Aitcheson was known as a physically punishing blueliner who was still a little raw in terms of his offensive game.  It’s safe to say he put that concern to rest this season as he finished third in the league in goals by a defenceman behind only Zayne Parekh and Sam Dickinson (who were the 9th and 11th picks last year, respectively).  Pretty good company to be in.

That isn’t to say that he’s going to be an offensive defender at the NHL level.  He profiles as more of a secondary contributor at that end which is why he isn’t as highly rated as Parekh and Dickinson were a year ago.  His ceiling might only be that of a number four defender.  Normally, that particular profile wouldn’t be worthy of a late-lottery selection.  But Aitcheson isn’t a normal profile.

To use a Canadiens-specific example (sort of), Aitcheson profiles as a better player than combining Arber Xhekaj and Jayden Struble’s strengths into one.  There is a high (and I mean high) level of nastiness to his game, one that gets him into trouble at times, in terms of penalty trouble and taking himself out of position to go for the big hit.  That type of recklessness is common for juniors but it’s something he will need to work on.  But he’s also a solid skater and can keep up with the often frantic pace of junior hockey with, again, a decent offensive skill set to work with that won’t pigeonhole him as a third-pairing player as Xhekaj and Struble are.

When you look at how the playoffs have gone in recent years with an extra level of emphasis on size and toughness that can play a regular shift, those players are particularly valuable.  And while he’s probably not going to be a top-pairing player, Aitcheson is that type of blueliner which has certainly helped his draft stock.

For a team like Montreal whose cupboards are well-stocked overall, there’s a temptation to say swing big for upside with picks 16 and 17.  Aitcheson isn’t an upside swing by any stretch.  In fact, he’s one of the safer selections that can be made as the bust potential is rather limited compared to others projected to go around this spot.

However, his profile is a hard one to come by, especially with top-four upside.  And as we’ve seen, the Habs’ scouting team likes looking for hard-to-find pieces.  No, this isn’t the next ‘unicorn’ player but the scarcity of players like Aitcheson that could play in the top four should help his cause on Montreal’s draft board.

Timeline

From a physicality standpoint, Aitcheson could probably hold his own in the NHL next season.  But that wouldn’t be the best option development-wise.  The graduation of Beau Akey will give Aitcheson even more top offensive minutes to continue to refine that part of his game, while, again, the recklessness that he plays with at times needs to be refined which should also help his defensive game come along.  That needs to be done gradually at the junior level, not in the pros.

Aitcheson has two junior-eligible years remaining and he’ll need both of them.  While the Habs have moved a couple of blueliners straight to the NHL from junior hockey (Xhekaj and Kaiden Guhle), at least one full season of playing in the minors would make the most sense as there’s almost certain to be an adjustment period to the higher level of physicality in the pros.  The temptation to use Aitcheson earlier will be there but slower-playing things would be the best option for him in the long run.