Kashawn Aitcheson is set to become the latest Barrie Colt to be selected in the first round of the NHL Draft tonight in Los Angeles.
The 18-year-old defenceman will likely be off the board by the middle of the first round. Rated between the mid-teens and low 20s on most NHL teams' internal evaluation lists, Aitcheson is likely to be picked higher for a few reasons.
The first is that Aitcheson plays hard — “the right way,” in the words of one scout this season. He can be mean and occasionally a bully on the ice. Players of that ilk who still possess the requisite skill are increasingly hard to find.
The past week or so has seen many national and international media run stories on Aitcheson, having noticed what local hockey fans have known for about two years: the kid is a unique mix of personality, toughness and skill.
“A cannon of a shot and a huge dose of nasty” is how veteran evaluator Kyle Woodlief described Aitcheson.
Woodlief is the chief scout for Red Line Report, an independent scouting newsletter that counts most NHL teams as customers. Woodlief has Aitcheson 16th in his final rankings, but expects him to be drafted a few picks higher on Friday.
Mark Edwards, who owns HockeyProspect, another independent outfit more catered to public consumption, has Aitcheson 21st. Edwards said it is difficult to project where Aitcheson may end up, but acknowledged his great season and intangibles.
“One scout told me he was the best he interviewed,” Edwards said in his final ranking put out earlier this month.
Beyond the physicality, Aitcheson has developed impressive offensive instincts. Though he doesn’t project as an offensive defenceman in the NHL, he could contribute 10 to 12 goals a season and see time on a second power-play unit on the strength of his hard, heavy shot.
What’s not to love about Aitcheson?
Well, he can lose track of where he is on the ice, surrendering vertical space and at times runs adrift in his own end. One scout, a rarity in that he said he does not consider Aitcheson a blue-chip prospect, told this humble scribbler in March that he “doesn’t like the rigid angles he plays,” referring to a lack of smooth transition in retrieving the puck and distributing it in his own zone.
“I’m not convinced yet,” the scout said in a sober tone.
This year’s draft crop is weak, though Canada has a good group and will once again have the first overall pick when the New York Islanders select Erie Otters defenceman Matthew Schaefer. But it is a decidedly down year for the U.S. and most European countries.
Another scout said he figures that Aitcheson and Tri-City Americans defenceman Jackson Smith will follow one another off the draft board.
Aitcheson will join a lengthy list of Colts taken in the first round, following Cole Beaudoin, who went 24th last year to the Utah Hockey Club, now rechristened as the Mammoth. Both Aitcheson and Beaudoin have an opportunity to finish their junior career in style in 2025-26, with the inside track for a spot on Canada’s world junior team. They won gold together at the U18s playing for Canada last year.
The Colts capacity to produce first-rounders started immediately with Alex Volchkov (fourth overall) and then Daniel Tkaczuk (sixth overall) and has continued for three decades.
Aitcheson will be the 17th Colt to be taken in the first round. A few others went early in the second round, such as two-time Stanley Cup winner Kyle Clifford. Brendan Lemieux was selected 31st overall by Buffalo 11 years ago, which would now be in the first round, but was then the second pick of the second round.
The first overall pick that year was Aaron Ekblad, who just won his second consecutive Stanley Cup ring with the Florida Panthers.
The Winnipeg Jets and the Carolina Hurricanes are perhaps the two top contenders to knock the Panthers off their lofty perch with former first-rounders Andrei Svechnikov and Mark Scheifele, who went second and seventh, respectively, while playing in Barrie.
This year is the first de-centralized draft, but the top prospects are in Los Angeles for the event. The first 32 selections take place Friday, and the six remaining rounds go Saturday.
Watch this space on Saturday for a rundown of players with local connections who could be taken in rounds two through seven.
Peter Robinson is a reporter at BarrieToday covering courts and sports.
