Islanders Return Kashawn Aitcheson To OHL Barrie
As expected, the New York Islanders are returning one of their recent first-round picks to his respective junior program. According to a team announcement, the Islanders have returned defenseman Kashawn Aitcheson to the OHL’s Barrie Colts.
The Toronto, ON native was selected with the 17th overall pick of the 2025 NHL Draft, a draft pick New York acquired from the Montreal Canadiens in the Noah Dobson trade. Aitcheson skated in 64 games for OHL Barrie last season, scoring 26 goals and 59 points, with another six goals and 12 points in 16 postseason contests. He was the 9th-ranked North American skater entering the 2025 NHL Draft by NHL Central Scouting.
Before being returned to the Colts, Aitcheson skated in both preseason games for the Islanders up to this point. In the first game against the Philadelphia Flyers, Aitcheson went scoreless in 18:09 of action, while taking a minor penalty for holding in the second period and putting four shots on net. Unfortunately, due to a collision with Flyers defenseman Noah Juulsen, Aitcheson suffered a minor lower-body injury, although it was mild enough to return to game action last night.
In yesterday’s game against the New Jersey Devils, Aitcheson had a much quieter night on the scoresheet, skating in 17:48 of the contest while registering one takeaway and one giveaway. He’ll return to a Colts team that has already begun its 2025-26 season, securing a win against the Guelph Storm on Saturday.
Given that he’s a recent first-round selection by the Islanders’ new front office regime, they’ll keep a close eye on Aitcheson throughout the season. Assuming his development continues in a positive direction, it’s more than likely Aitcheson will represent Team Canada at the 2025-26 U20 World Junior Championships.
Canucks Sign Riley Patterson, Gabe Chiarot To Entry-Level Contracts
The Vancouver Canucks have signed wingers Riley Patterson and Gabe Chiarot to their entry-level contracts. Patterson was drafted in the fourth-round of the 2024 NHL Draft, while Chiarot was drafted in the sixth-round of the 2025 Draft. Both players were loaned back to the OHL as part of Vancouver’s round of training camp cuts on Sunday. Patterson will head to the Niagara IceDogs, while Chiarot joins the Brampton Steelheads.
Patterson’s contract will carry a $923K cap hit at the NHL level, and pay an $85K salary in the AHL. It also features $85K in signing bonuses awarded annually, per PuckPedia. Chiarot’s deal will carry a $917K cap hit in the NHL and a $85K salary in the minors. He received a $75K signing bonus each season, also per PuckPedia.
Patterson spent the last two seasons filling a top-six role for the Barrie Colts. His play hit a peak in the 2023-24 season, when he notched 29 goals and 62 points in 68 games with Barrie. That was both Patterson’s first year of draft eligibility, and his first year in the OHL, after playing his age-17 season in the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL). His scoring dipped last to 25 goals and 59 points in 64 games with Barrie last season. Despite that, Patterson’s snappy playmaking and ability to quickly jump into fast-moving plays both shined clear all year long. He made noticeable improvements to his two-way game, and will now offer stout veteran presence to a Niagara lineup that’s turned over much of their forward group. Patterson could struggle to earn a top-line role alongside centers Ryerson Edgar, Alexander Hage, and Ryan Roobroeck – though the Canucks draftee will be sure to find hot impact among that level of talent.
Chiarot should have a clearer path to minutes for the Steelheads. He’s gradually risen through their ranks over the last two seasons, netting 10 points in 48 games at age-16 and 35 points in 66 games of his draft season last year. To boot, Chiarot became known for his snappy shot and the heft he uses to drive deep into the offensive end. Those attributes, complimented by a summer of NHL guidance, should pave a path to top-six minutes as Chiarot returns to the junior flight. The cousin of Detroit Red Wings defenseman Ben Chiarot, Gabe will look to prove he can play above his com petition enough to jump to the minor-league ranks next season. He notably finished last season with 10 points and 34 shots in his final 14 games, a spark he’ll look to keep up as he returns.
Evening Notes: Evangelista, Canadiens Rookies, Cootes
Negotiations between winger Luke Evangelista and the Nashville Predators have begun to stall per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, who reports that yearly salary is what’s created the wedge. Evangelista is one of the top unsigned restricted free agents after players like Connor Zary and Marco Rossi both found new deals. The 23-year-old Evangelista posted an impressive 10 goals and 32 points in 68 games last season. It was a suitable encore to the 16 goals and 39 points he posted in 80 games of the 2023-24 season.
A pair of successful scoring seasons would surely make the player’s camp confident in earning a hardy salary. Columbus Blue Jackets forward Cole Sillinger recently signed a two-year, $4.5MM contract extension, while New Jersey Devils forward Dawson Mercer recently signed a three-year, $12MM contract. Those could be the boundaries for a short-term, bridge contract for Evangelista, who has certainly proved he can stick in Nashville’s top nine. Should contract talks continue to stall, the Predators could opt for a one-year, sub-$1MM contract and kick negotiations back to next summer.
Other notes from around the league:
- The Montreal Canadiens have assigned a group of rookies back to their respective leagues after rookie camp came to a close. In turn, Montreal assigned defensemen Carlos Handel to the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads, Andrew MacNiel to the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers, and Bryce Pickford to the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers. Goaltenders Arseny Radkov and Mikus Vecvanags will return to Russia and Latvia, respectively. The team has also returned a handful of rookie camp invites. All of the moves come as expected, though it rings as exciting news for fans of Medicine Hat and Halifax, as their top defenders return for another season.
- Top Vancouver Canucks prospect Braeden Cootes was absent from the team’s final rookie camp scrimmage on Sunday, per Thomas Drance of The Athletic. Drance later added that Cootes was held out for precautionary reasons and will still attend training camp next week. That will keep the reigning 15th overall pick on track to take his first crack at breaking into the NHL. Cootes had a strong season with the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds last year. He dominated the middle of the ice with quick plays all year long, working up to 63 points and 60 games in total. Cootes seems most likely set for a return to Seattle next season, though a strong training camp could earn him the chance at sticking in the pros for nine games.
Jussi Ahokas Drew Interest For NHL Coaching Roles
OHL Kitchener head coach Jussi Ahokas has now generated interest from NHL clubs for assistant roles in each of the past two summers, he told Josh Brown of the Waterloo Region Record.
The 44-year-old Ahokas has been on the radar for quite some time now, and there’s a fair chance he becomes only the third full-time European head coach in league history at some point in the coming years. He’s already cemented himself as the first European bench boss in OHL history and is coming off a spectacular second season with the Kitchener Rangers in 2024-25. He helped the team along to a 47-15-6 record and a conference final loss despite his roster not having any uber-notable NHL prospects outside of defenseman Cameron Reid, who was a first-round selection by the Predators this year.
That got him named OHL Coach of the Year, and he was also named the honorary coach of the league’s First All-Star Team. It was the second time this decade he’s taken home such honors in a high-profile league. In his native Finland, he was named Liiga’s Coach of the Year with KooKoo in 2019-20 – his first year behind the bench of a professional club in any capacity.
Ahokas has also coached Finland’s national junior team to gold at the U18 World Juniors in 2016 and the U20 World Juniors in 2019.
One thing working against Ahokas in interviews as he tries to land an assistant gig in the NHL is his lack of experience in assistant roles. He’s only ever been a head coach in league play and has limited experience in assistant roles at international tournaments. He was an assistant for Finland’s women’s team at the World Championship from 2007 to 2009 and was their video coach at the 2010 Olympics, though.
It’s likely he’ll make a bigger push for an NHL bench job in 2027. His deal with Kitchener still has two years left on it. “My goal is to be here for those two years and win a Memorial Cup here,” Ahokas said, a goal that might be made easier if the Rangers are successful in their bid to host the tournament in 2027. They’re one of the finalists alongside the Guelph Storm, the CHL announced today.
Minor Transactions: 8/30/25
With international and junior leagues starting to get their preseasons underway, there have been a lot of minor moves in recent days. Here’s a rundown of those with some NHL ties.
- Capitals prospect Miroslav Satan has changed teams as OHL Saginaw recently announced that they’ve signed him for the upcoming season. The 19-year-old forward was a seventh-round pick by Washington in 2024, going 204th overall but struggled considerably at the USHL level last season in his first taste of playing in North America. In 45 games combined between Sioux Falls and Omaha, Satan managed just three goals and one assist while he also suited up in three games for the Slovaks at the World Juniors. Washington has until June 1st, 2028, to sign him so there’s still lots of time for Satan to turn things around; he’ll hope a different league will help make that happen.
- After spending the last decade in Tampa Bay’s organization (primarily in the minors), UFA winger/defenseman Daniel Walcott announced (Twitter link) that he will not be returning to Syracuse. The 31-year-old played in 494 games for the Crunch over 10 seasons while also getting into one game with the Lightning. The AHL has a restriction on how many veterans a team can dress and that is likely playing a role in Walcott not returning for an 11th year with the team.
- While the Sabres non-tendered forward Bennett MacArthur in June, he’ll technically remain affiliated with the organization as their ECHL affiliate in Jacksonville announced that they’ve signed him to a one-year deal. The 24-year-old split last season between the ECHL affiliates of Pittsburgh and Buffalo, notching 10 goals and 20 assists in 64 games.
- Meanwhile, another non-tendered Sabres UFA this summer has also secured a place to play for the upcoming year as Dynamo Moscow of the KHL announced that winger Alexander Kisakov’s tryout was successful and that he has been given a one-year deal. The 22-year-old was a second-round pick in 2021 but struggled in the AHL, notching just 25 points in 93 games over the course of his three-year, entry-level contract.
Pacific Notes: McDavid, Patterson, Papirny
As Canada’s Olympic orientation camp got underway today, plenty of the focus was on Connor McDavid’s contract situation with the Oilers, namely that an extension hasn’t been completed yet. Speaking with reporters today including Sportsnet’s Eric Francis, the center indicated that he has every intention to win with Edmonton and that is his only focus. However, when asked if he’d be okay opening the season without a deal, McDavid indicated that all options are on the table.
At this point, it doesn’t appear as if there have been any substantive conversations between the two sides. TSN’s Ryan Rishaug reports (Twitter link) that there hasn’t been a back-and-forth between the Oilers and McDavid’s camp regarding either salary or term. Given that McDavid could plausibly sign a short-term or a long-term deal, it’s not a situation as simple as focusing on an eight-year deal and only worrying about the money. He’ll carry a $12.5MM AAV for the upcoming season and is expected to beat that by several million per season whenever he puts pen to paper on a new deal.
Elsewhere in the Pacific:
- A day after his trade request was made public, Canucks prospect Riley Patterson is on the move in the OHL. Niagara announced that they’ve acquired the center from Barrie in exchange for five draft picks. The 19-year-old was a fourth-round pick in 2024 and has averaged just under a point per game in the past two seasons with the Colts, including a 25-goal, 59-point effort last season. Vancouver has until June 1st to sign Patterson to an entry-level deal or lose his rights so there will be a lot riding on the upcoming season for him.
- The Golden Knights’ AHL affiliate announced that they have brought back goaltender Jordan Papirny on a one-year minor-league deal. The 29-year-old has spent the last three seasons in their system but he hasn’t been able to secure an NHL deal. Last season, Papirny played in 28 games with ECHL Tahoe, putting up a 2.50 GAA and a .920 SV% along with four shutouts while getting into a pair of games with AHL Henderson.
Prospect Notes: Behrens, Wassilyn, Bourque
The Colorado Avalanche have received a bit of good news in the quietest days of summer. Defense prospect Sean Behrens shared that he’s been fully cleared to participate in the team’s rookie tournament with Meghan Angley of Guerilla Sports. Behrens missed all but two games of last season after sustaining a knee injury in an October practice scrimmage. The first-year pro only suited up for the very first, and very final, game of the Colorado Eagles’ season.
Hopes were high for Behrens prior to his season-ending injury. He seemed well set for a strong push into pros after finishing a three-year stay at the University of Denver with 31 points in 44 games, and a National Championship win, in the 2023-24 season. Behrens was a core part of the title-winning Pioneers, where he often found himself playing alongside or directly behind top prospect Zeev Buium. He showed off all of the sharp stickhandling and quick skating needed to keep the Pioneers offense running with Buium off the ice, and earned the NCHC’s ‘Defenseman Of The Year’ award as a result. Behrens now faces an uphill battle adjusting his slight, 5-foot-10 frame to the pro level. He’s made strong impacts in both junior and college hockey, and could earn a top role with the Eagles with a quick return.. He’ll be a name for fans to watch – though likely one that the Avalanche take their time with – as he looks forward to a healthy season.
Other notes from around the prospect world:
- Top 2026 NHL Draft prospect Braidy Wassilyn will indeed return to the OHL’s Niagara Ice Dogs next season, then attend Boston University in the 2026-27 season, shares Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News. Kennedy mentions that Wassilyn’s return to juniors wasn’t previously guaranteed. This news puts the cherry on top of a productive summer for Niagara. Wassilyn scored 39 points in 62 games of his rookie OHL season last year. He rivaled the team’s top-six by the end of the season, profiling as a sharp and mobile playmaker with a heavy, 200-pound frame. He’ll return to great company in Niagara – set to play alongside fellow top 2026 draft prospect Ryan Roobroeck, Winnipeg Jets prospect Kevin He, and Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Ethan Czata.
- Dallas Stars forward Mavrik Bourque will now be represented by agent Olivier Fortier, Vice President of Wasserman Hockey, per PuckPedia. Borque just wrapped up his rookie season in the NHL with 11 goals and 25 points in 73 games. It was a relatively calm performance, after Bourque won the AHL’s MVP award with 77 points in 71 games of the 2023-24 season. He did maintain a positive plus-minus and consistent lineup role through his first NHL season, even playing second-line minutes through certain points in the year. He’ll face the task of now cementing a spot up the lineup, and discovering his scoring prowess, ahead of restricted-free agency next summer.
Oilers Notes: Berezkin, Gregor, Nicholl
Winger Maxim Berezkin is one of the more intriguing players in Edmonton’s prospect pool. The 23-year-old was a fifth-round pick back in 2020, going 138th overall but has become somewhat of a later bloomer after becoming a full-time KHL player three years ago. He’s coming off his best season at that level, one that saw him produce 15 goals and 27 assists in 66 regular season games while adding 14 points in 21 playoff contests with KHL Lokomotiv Yaroslavl as they won the Gagarin Cup.
Berezkin signed a new one-year to remain in the KHL back in May but that shouldn’t be viewed as a sign that he doesn’t want to come to North America. In an interview with Daria Tuboltseva for Vseprosport, he indicated that he still intends to sign with Edmonton but that he felt it would be best for his development to spend this season back home over potentially spending this year in the minors with AHL Bakersfield. Now, whenever he ultimately signs, Berezkin will be capped at a one-year entry-level deal.
More from Edmonton:
- There has been some speculation that the Oilers will be looking at some tryouts heading into training camp. One player who hasn’t had discussions with Edmonton on that front yet is winger Noah Gregor, according to Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal. An Alberta native, Gregor has had to go the PTO route to secure a full contract before and after putting up just four goals and three assists in 52 games last season between Ottawa and San Jose, there’s a good chance he’ll have to settle for a tryout in the coming weeks.
- Prospect Will Nicholl won’t be starting his 2025-26 for quite a while. His junior team, the London Knights of the OHL, announced (Twitter link) that the forward underwent successful upper-body surgery earlier this summer and will miss four to six months. The 19-year-old was a seventh-round pick back in 2024 and had a solid showing last season, picking up 21 goals and 36 assists in 66 games. Edmonton must sign Nicholl by June 1st or relinquish his rights so it’s fair to say the few months he does play this season will be crucial.
Morning Notes: Red Wings, Stenberg, Funck
The biggest training camp storyline for the Red Wings will be who begins the season as their top line left wing next to Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond. They’ve had a revolving door there for the first four years of the latter’s career, and it doesn’t look like that will be changing anytime soon.
To that end, Max Bultman of The Athletic explored that topic today. Their most frequent linemate last season was youngster Marco Kasper, but with his development more apt in filling a much-needed second-line center role for the Wings, that’s where Bultman anticipates him staying to open the season.
If not Kasper, it’s a rather uninspiring list for a unit expected to be Detroit’s most productive. The leading contender might be a swap of who Kasper replaced down the middle late last year. Veteran Andrew Copp has played exclusively down the middle since signing with the Wings three years ago, but could slot in on Larkin’s wing to “bring some of the same heaviness and defensive elements Kasper did to that line,” Bultman writes.
Copp is arguably the leading contender because of Detroit’s relatively quiet offseason, leaving them with uninspiring top-line options in the likely scenario they keep wingers Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane as their second-line anchors. Other names in the mix, Bultman writes, will be free agent pickup James van Riemsdyk and the towering young Elmer Söderblom. The former was more productive last season with 36 points in 71 games for the Blue Jackets, but only averaged 12:24 per night.
Here’s more from around the hockey world today:
- It’ll take a miracle to unseat phenom Gavin McKenna from first overall on anyone’s draft board by the time next June rolls around, but the No. 2 slot is still up for grabs. While the consensus preseason opinion there is big-bodied defender Keaton Verheoff, Scott Wheeler of The Athletic opines that his average skating gives the edge to Swedish winger Ivar Stenberg, whom he opines is a slam-dunk first-line winger. His production in under-20 play with Frölunda last season jumps off the page – 53 points in 27 games – and he just won a bronze medal at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup while contributing a tournament-leading four goals and 10 points in five games. He’s primed for a full-time role in the pros in the SHL this season, but his early birthday for the class (Sep. 30) means he’s further along in his development than most of his peers.
- After being drafted out of his native Sweden, Avalanche defense prospect Linus Funck is making the jump to North America. The 2025 fourth-rounder will suit up for the OHL’s London Knights this season, the team announced. The 6’3″, 186-lb righty had a 5-23–28 scoring line in 48 games for Luleå’s U-20 squad last season but was not part of Sweden’s contingent for this month’s Hlinka Grezky tournament.
Big Hype Prospects: DuPont, Verhoeff, Vanhatalo, Rogowski
The 2025-26 season will kickoff on Monday for hockey’s scouting world, as many of the top U18 prospects from around the world join in Brno, Czechia and Trenčín, Slovakia for the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. The tournament is one of the top non-IIHF sanctioned events of the hockey season, and features talents from eight different countries — this year from USA, Canada, Czechia, Slovakia, Sweden, Finland, Germany, and Switzerland. It’s often the first chance for top draft picks to show their strength among an increasingly competitive group of peers. That makes now the perfect time to again borrow from MLB Trade Rumors’ Big Hype Prospect series to break down some of the top names to watch when pucks drop this week.
Four Big Hype Prospects
Landon DuPont, RD, Team Canada (Everett Silvertips, WHL)
2024-25 Season: 64 GP, 17 G, 43 A, 60 TP, 26 PIM, +31
There is little question about who the top prospect at this year’s Hlinka tournament will be – and, ironically, it’s not a player eligible for the draft in 2026. Instead it’s 16-year-old Landon DuPont, a true star talent coming off the highest-scoring season from a U16 defender in CHL history — by more than 20 points. DuPont is cut from a different cloth in many ways. He’s fantastically smooth on the puck and uses clean, long, and quick strides to cut through all three zones and create layup scoring chances. His vision is sharp and he’s firm on every decision, creating a player truly capable of taking over games on his own. DuPont has a special drive to succeed that should be put on full display as he gets his first opportunity to represent his country overseas. It would be no surprise to see DuPont – the son of European hockey veteran Micki DuPont – race towards the top of the Hlinka leaderboards and soon the top of the 2027 NHL Draft class.
Keaton Verhoeff, RD, Team Canada (University of North Dakota, NCHC)
2024-25 Season (Victoria, WHL): 63 GP, 21 G, 24 A, 45 TP, 14 PIM, +23
It is a rare and lucky moment when a head coach gets to call Keaton Verhoeff their second defender. He brings every bit of the star-power that Canada has become known for at this tournament. Verhoeff is a towering, beefy defender standing at 6-foot-4 and 212-pounds — and yet, he’s another incredibly smooth puck-handler, with a special instinct for how and when to dip into the offensive zone. He plays a game that thrives on gut calls, but lives on fundamentals – and shows as much talent in defending the rush or blocking out the slot as he does in making flashy, high-speed cuts to the offensive net. Team Canada has already named Verhoeff their captain for this tournament – and among the top questions for the week ahead will be how they wield his physical upside next to DuPont’s snappy creativity. Verhoeff is entering the season as a top-two name in the 2026 draft class. He’ll get his first chance to fortify that standing at this tournament, before heading to the NCAA alongside Victoria teammate and Calgary Flames prospect Cole Reschny for the 2025-26 season.
Vilho Vanhatalo, RW, Team Finland (Tappara, Finland U20)
2024-25 Season (Tappara, Finland U18): 41 GP, 37 G, 21 A, 58 TP, 38 PIM
Prospect chatter surrounding Finland has quieted in recent years, but their 2008 birth year seems well equipped to pull the country back into the spotlight. They’re a heavy-hitting group that features players like Oscar Hemming, Eelis Uronen, adn Anttoni Uronen – all the younger brothers of NHL prospects (Emil Hemming, Dallas; Tomas Uronen, Vegas). But the group is headlined by beefy goal-scorer Vilho Vanhatalo, a ground-and-pound shooter with multiple ways to best his opponents. Vanhatalo is strong with a huge frame – 6-foot-4 and 200-pounds – and an athletic stance. He’s also quick to make decisions and jump to the next play – making him hard to contain in the offensive end. He squares up to passes quickly, and has a true heft behind his shot. That’s helped Vanhatalo reach fantastic goal-scoring heights already, including leading Finland’s top U18 in the stat last season. He also scored a team-leading three points in four games for Finland at the World U-17 Hockey Championship, and continued to lead the country’s U17 squad with 14 points in 17 games in other international tournaments. Where goals need scored, Vanhatalo finds his way – making him an interesting second-tier name for this tournament and the 2026 draft.
Brooks Rogowski, C/RW, Team USA (Oshawa Generals, OHL)
2024-25 Season: 66 GP, 11 G, 12 A, 23 TP, 9 PIM, -3
Brooks Rogowski may not be the true top name on Team USA’s lineup, but he’ll certainly be the hardest to miss. Literally. The 17-year-old stands at 6-foot-6 and 227-pounds, and seems well positioned to take on top-six minutes for an American squad looking for players to step up. Rogowski was relatively unrefined through much of his rookie OHL season last year, but has earned the close attention of scouts – and even a commitment to Michigan State University – since the season has come to a close. That’s largely thanks to a training regiment focused in on making him smoother and quicker driving down the ice, and consequentially strong performances at the USA U17-Selects tournament and Hlinka Gretzky Cup invite camp. Rogowski will play second-string to USA’s stars – like hard-nosed center and 2027 draft prospect Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll and flashy speedster and 2026 prospect Jack Hextall. But when it comes to playing a physically-imposing game geared towards driving the net, head coach Bob Motzko will find all he needs in Rogowski. This tournament will mark the giant’s first chance to rocket up his draft stock.