Aitcheson was a big-minutes player for Team Canada at the 2024 U18 worlds — where his ice time rose when the games and the shifts mattered most, especially in defensive situations — and has been a big-minutes player for Barrie the last two seasons (in his draft year, he also wore a letter and was a go-to contributor on both the power play and penalty kill). He’s a powerful, bullish defender who is hard to play against, defends firmly and commands his ice. He knows who he is and plays with confidence and aggression, often directing his teammates and always talking (to his teammates and opponents). He’s strong on the PK. He’s chippy and extremely physical, looking for every opportunity he can to lay a hit, get in someone’s face or give someone a shot. He’s eager to drop the gloves. He’s a willing shot-blocker. He has step-up physicality and likes to knock guys around (I’ve seen him lay some huge hits in visits to Barrie). He has a hard shot, scored 26 goals last season as a D, scored half a dozen more in the playoffs and makes a good first pass. He’s a strong enough skater (though his feet can splay and kick a little when he’s in a hurry and he’s still got work to do on his stride mechanics, which I know have already been a focus) and a physically mature athlete with some real power and presence about him. He has a good stick, so his defending isn’t completely reliant on his physical play. His discipline and decision-making can get him into trouble, and he takes a lot of stick penalties and will make the odd mistake, but he can play in all situations and has a lot of the tools you look for in a hard-nosed two-way type. Aitcheson was named to the OHL’s Second All-Star Team in 2024-25. He’s going to have a long career in the NHL as a two-way competitor with some real bite.
Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241
Post Comment