New York Islanders top prospect Kashawn Aitcheson took home OHL Defenseman of the Year honors, shared by the league today. The 19-year-old joins fellow Barrie Colts Aaron Ekblad (2014) and Erik Reitz (2002) to earn the distinguished award.
Aitcheson has yet to make his professional debut, but he’s looking like a fantastic selection at 17th overall in last year’s draft. As part of their first round haul which brought Matthew Schaefer and Victor Eklund, the class has transformed New York’s outlook on the future.
Chosen with the pick acquired as part of the Noah Dobson trade to Montreal, Aitcheson took another step in the right direction with 70 points in 56 games. OHL scoring numbers sometimes not painting the whole picture, the lefty is a true #1 defenseman, standing out on both ends and showcasing a physical edge as a complete package.
The Toronto native inked his entry-level deal last month, but will have to wait to enter the professional circuit. New York’s AHL affiliate in Bridgeport would have loved to infuse their lineup with the lefty, but he is not eligible, turning 20 this summer. Even then, the 6’2” prospect has all the tools to jump right into the NHL next fall.
Elsewhere across the division:
- As the New York Rangers look to move on from a majorly disappointing 2025-26, questions were raised by Vince Z. Mergogliano of The Athletic on Matt Rempe and Adam Edstrom’s future with the team. Currently with a logjam in their bottom six, the emergence of Jaroslav Chmelar and Adam Sykora could push out Rempe and/or Edstrom, neither of which have waiver eligibility remaining. Edstrom, 25, had an injury riddled campaign where he recorded just five points in 35 games. At 6’7”, he could benefit from a fresh start after three years with the Rangers and limited production. Meanwhile, Rempe’s stats are no real improvement, but the 6’9” winger could have a trade market this summer thanks to his age (23) and mean streak, an asset to any young team with playoff aspirations. San Jose, for example, stands out as a club who values such a role, and could be looking for a Ryan Reaves replacement. Similar to enforcer trades in the past, Rempe could fetch a meaningful return for New York.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets might form a succession plan behind the bench with Trent Vogelhuber, written by The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline. After cleaning house last week, head coach Rick Bowness will assemble his own staff. The 71-year-old, who got started in the NHL with the first iteration of the Winnipeg Jets back in the 1980s, earned the opportunity to stick around in Ohio but still is not a long-term solution on age alone. Instead he figures to be more of a “culture changer”, fully evident by such harsh comments on his team closing the season. With this in mind, Portzline reports that Vogelhuber, head coach of the Cleveland Monsters, could make the jump to assistant on Bowness’ staff on his way to taking over in the future. Just 37, Vogelhuber is a native of Dublin, Ohio, and a former draft pick by the team (211th overall, 2007). Joining the Monsters in 2018 as an assistant, Vogelhuber has quickly risen up the ranks, becoming head coach in 2022 where he’s led the Monsters to another playoff berth in 2025-26. Whatever the case, with 12 head coaches in their 26 years of existence, Columbus would benefit from stability of a young home-grown coach.
Matt Rempe is nothing but a novelty act.
He’s not a great skater, but when he’s in on the forecheck defensemen hate to go for the puck in the corners knowing he’s coming.
Matt Rempe is the Wilf/Grapes/Slash of the NHL. Only difference is that he doesn’t change his name on a monthly basis.
I agree that SOMEone will give SOMEthing for Rempe. Which is just plain stupid: there are any number of big lugs in the ECHL who will be thrilled to punch people in the head and run them into the boards for league minimum.
Well … we’ll see if Aitcheson turns out to be a “fantastic” anything in the pros. As witness: Eric Reitz who? (Or, by way of other winners in the last twenty years one might have a hard time remembering, Noel Hoefenmayer, Ryan Sproul, Danny Syvret …)
And you base this on your many years as a professional NHL scout with actual knowledge of hockey talent? Or maybe just some random guy living in his parents basement watching Hockey Night in Canada and playing video games on his computer.
Are you like this all the time, or are you just a part-time knuckledragger?
It should be apparent to anyone with an IQ above room temperature (I concede you may not qualify) that NHL scouting departments do not always get it right, and that teenagers don’t necessarily turn into hockey stars. Alexander Daigle was considered worthy of being drafted first overall. Nail Yakupov was considered worthy of being drafted first overall. Patrik Stefan was considered worthy of being drafted first overall. From Zach Hamill to Erik Gudbranson to Nikita Filatov to Scott Glennie to Griffin Reinhart to Michael Dal Colle to Olli Juolevi to Nolan Patrick to Alex Turcotte … I could name guys NHL general managers made top draft choices who bombed out until Jaromir Jagr finally retires, without breathing hard.
See, I have two strong prejudices. The first is that I don’t believe anyone’s made it until they make it. I don’t care about Central Scouting rankings, or college/junior awards, or bullshit like “draft pedigree.” I care about what they show on NHL ice sheets.
The second strong prejudice is that I have no use for Internet trolls like you.
he’s been doing his troll schtick a looong time… just tune him out.
Sully hates big physical players
I live in Columbus (not a Jackets fan, though) so I can say this: CBJ will never be a destination team for any top-tier players who actually want to win. They will always have their work cut out for them to even make the playoffs, let alone make a deep run. There’s a reason they’ve had 12 coaches in 26 years of existence.
Never? Wasn’t Johnny Gaudreau the #1 free agent in the league when he signed with the Blue Jackets?
@mws38 2 – I’d agree that Johnny was one of the rare exceptions in CBJ history, but they do seem to have a stigma attached to the city when it comes to getting top-tier NHL players. It’s almost like they’re seen in the same vein as a Candadian market, minus the “Canadian Tax” bit, of course.
Probably pretty simple: players like to win. A team that’s one just one real playoff series in its entire history? One without sunny beaches, without being a tax haven, or without Big Metropolis nightlife? That might be a place a player in his thirties might think about for its willingness to overpay for a big money/big term contract, but less so for the ambitious.