You know the drill. In the 2025 NHL Draft, the Nashville Predators have three first round draft picks. For a franchise that hit a massive speed bump during the 2024-2025 season, you need at least one of these picks to hit, and to hit big.
If you wanted to take that sentence literally, then you would be very interested in drafting Kashawn Aitcheson of the Barrie Colts. In addition to having an offensive highlight reel, he also has a hit reel that'll raise your eyebrows and your blood pressure to incredible heights.
Bodies Hit The Floor And Butts Leave The Seats
Yes, it is time to quote Drowning Pool. Aitcheson is a player who will step up in the neutral zone, defensive zone, offensive zone, really anywhere on the ice, and put down an opposing puck carrier. Once he's freed the puck from his opponent, he's quick to jump into the play and become an offensive weapon. Check the highlights, where he does it all offensively and defensively.
His 2024-2025 season was impressive. In 64 games with the Barrie Colts, he scored 26 goals and dished out 33 assists for 59 points. This was on top of 88 penalty minutes. He also added 12 points in 16 playoff games. He's got all the skill in the world, and then you go to the measurements. He's 6'2 196 pounds at just 18 years old, and he's already clearly comfortable with throwing his weight around.
He's done the work to go from raw talent to a reliable figure on the backend. He brought his penalty minutes down a lot from the 2023-2024 season, and cut out things like turnovers and bad reads, making himself a more effective player for the Colts. He's a strong skater, but with his length, he can occasionally be flat-footed. He has to clean that up at the NHL level.
He'll also face the temptation to be ultra-physical as he enters the pro ranks to make an impact. Someone with the well-rounded skills that he has needs to dole out the physicality in a measured way. He'll need to be physical, but he can't be too physical.
Player Comps: Hard Hitting & Productive
Watching some of these highlights and thinking about Aitcheson brings two players to mind very quickly. Players like Jacob Trouba and Dion Phaneuf both have similar sizes and games. Both also became noted team leaders and had long careers. Phaneuf played over 1000 games in the show, and Trouba will get there in about two years, should he stay healthy.
Even on the Predators, he shows some similarities to a player like Jeremy Lauzon, but his stats in juniors are much stronger than Lauzon's were. He's been a quality bottom pair defender, but Aitcheson needs to be in the top 4 if he's going to be an impact player in the league.
Can They Even Draft Him?
Aitcheson is ranked 15th overall by Central Scouting when it comes to North American skaters. He's probably going in the teens when it comes to picks. The Predators are going to need to move a pick and then some to slip into a position to take him.
It is possible, but not likely. Still, if he starts to slide on draft night and you see Barry Trotz pick up the phone, he might be trying to grab this cornerstone defender.