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.
Injury Notes: Blackwood, Jensen, Garland, Aitcheson
Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar told reporters today, including The Denver Gazette’s Evan Rawal, that starting goalie Mackenzie Blackwood is currently progressing in his recovery from a lower-body injury but is questionable to play in the team’s season opener October 7th in Los Angeles. Blackwood is firmly entrenched as the Avalanche starter, a status the team confirmed last December when they signed him to a five-year, $5.25MM contract extension.
Blackwood played well to begin his time in Colorado, posting a .913 save percentage in 37 games, and an .892 in a tough seven-game first-round series loss to the Dallas Stars. Should Blackwood’s injury linger into the regular season, veteran Scott Wedgewood would slot in as the Avalanche’s starting goalie. Interestingly, if Blackwood misses the game in Los Angeles, this would become the second consecutive season in which Wedgewood has gotten the chance to start a season-opener due to injury – he played in the Nashville Predators’ 2024-25 opener due to an injury to starter Juuse Saros. Wedgewood, who is a pending UFA with a $1.5MM cap hit, posted a .917 save percentage in 19 games for the Avalanche after a mid-season trade.
Other injury updates from across the NHL:
- TSN’s Claire Hanna relayed word from Ottawa Senators defenseman Nick Jensen today that Jensen is currently without a firm return timeline regarding his hip injury. Jensen said he feels he’d probably be able to handle playing if the season started tomorrow, but since he hasn’t tested himself in a game-like situation this preseason, it’s difficult to tell for sure. Jensen added that when it comes to his recovery, he’s looking to balance getting back as soon as possible with being able to “hit the ground running.” Jensen has a spot on the Senators’ second defensive pairing waiting for him whenever he is healthy, as the 35-year-old pending UFA is set to resume his pairing with Thomas Chabot.
- Vancouver Canucks head coach Adam Foote told the media today (including Rink Wide Vancouver’s Jeff Paterson) that winger Conor Garland will not play in the club’s preseason game tomorrow as he manages a minor injury. Foote clarified that the absence is more about maintaining Garland’s health in advance of the regular season than it is about recovery from anything serious, so it does not appear this preseason absence will in any way impact Garland’s readiness for the team’s season opener. The tenacious Garland is an integral middle-six piece for the Canucks and is coming off of a 19-goal, 50-point season.
- New York Islanders 2025 first-round pick Kashawn Aitcheson had a bit of an injury scare in the club’s first preseason game, but it appears he’s now fully healthy. Aitcheson dressed for the team’s preseason game tonight against the New Jersey Devils, meaning he has another chance to impress Islanders brass before he is, in all likelihood, reassigned to his junior team. The third of the Islanders’ trio of 2025 first-rounders, Aitcheson is a rangy two-way blueliner who was recently ranked as the club’s No. 4 prospect by EliteProspects.
Injury Notes: Blackhawks, Slavin, Aitcheson
The Chicago Blackhawks have one more day of practice before their first preseason contest tomorrow night, and the jury is still out on who exactly will be available. In a series of injury updates from Scott Powers of The Athletic, the Blackhawks will have André Burakovsky back at practice this morning. However, defenseman Connor Murphy and forwards Brett Seney and Landon Slaggert will not participate.
As Powers noted, Burakovsky missed the team’s practice yesterday due to a lower-body injury, and there’s no indication he won’t be a full participant in today’s skate. The 30-year-old Austrian was acquired this summer in a salary dump trade with the Seattle Kraken. After signing a five-year, $27.5MM contract with the Kraken in the summer of 2022, Burakovsky struggled to stay healthy in his new environment, scoring 30 goals and 92 points in 177 contests.
Unlike the other three, it doesn’t appear Murphy is dealing with any injuries, and he’s only being held out for a maintenance day, which isn’t uncommon for veteran players during training camp. Seney and Slaggert are each dealing with undisclosed injuries, and there are no updates to their availability in tomorrow night’s contest against the Detroit Red Wings.
Other injury updates:
- Following on the heels of last night’s report that the Carolina Hurricanes may hold out All-Star defenseman Jaccob Slavin from their preseason contests, it appears that will be the case. Outside of his absence from preseason action, there haven’t been any specifics regarding Slavin’s injury concerns at the time being. However, Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer reported this morning that Slavin is on the ice in a non-contact jersey.
- The New York Islanders made a few cuts to their training camp roster this morning, and recent first-round pick, Kashawn Aitcheson, wasn’t one of them. According to Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News, Aitcheson is considered day-to-day with an undisclosed injury after last night’s contest against the Philadelphia Flyers. The belief is that the Islanders want to get one more look at him once he’s healthy before sending him back to the OHL’s Barrie Colts.
Islanders’ Kashawn Aitcheson Will Return To OHL
Season plans have been revealed for New York Islanders first-round prospect Kashawn Aitcheson. Amid rumors of signing his entry-level contract or moving to the NCAA, Aitcheson will instead be returning to the OHL’s Barrie Colts for his age-19 season, Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News reports in his newsletter. Rosner adds that New York will wait to sign Aitcheson until next summer.
Aitcheson led Barrie’s blue-line in scoring in each of the last two seasons. He joined the Colts’ full-time in the 2023-24 season, at age 17, after a 23-game trial run in the prior season. It didn’t take long for Aitcheson to display a special lean towards feisty, aggressive hockey. He finished his first full OHL season with a team-leading 126 penalty minutes in 64 games, to go along with his defense-leading 39 points. The performance was a great show of the unique and overwhelming presence that Aitcheson brought to the lineup. Even more exciting was how he managed to build on that strong start this past season.
Through 64 games this year, a focus on staying poised and in-position boosted Aitcheson to an impressive 26 goals and 59 points, along with a restrained 88 penalty minutes. His goal-total is the third-most any OHL defenseman has managed in their draft year since 2000 — behind only Zayne Parekh (33) and Ryan Murphy (26). Aitcheson ranks just ahead of Evan Bouchard (25), Aaron Ekblad (23), and Ryan Ellis (22). That’s impressive company for the Islanders prospect, especially given that Ekblad is the only one of the bunch to also record more than 80 penalty minutes. Aitcheson’s performance was enough to earn the 17th-overall selection in this year’s draft.
An 18-goal leap from one season to the next will be hard for any player to sustain, though. Rather than couple that task with the challenge of a league change, Aitcheson will return to familiarity to really carve in his rut as a scorer. That will come as great news for Colts fans, who can almost certainly expect a near point-per-game season out of Aitcheson’s encore display. He’ll be joined by the return of Utah Mammoth first-round pick Cole Beaudoin, who scored 22 goals and 51 points in 52 games last season.
Islanders fans will have a list of places to follow their 2025 first-round picks on the back of this news. First-overall pick Matthew Schaefer will compete for a role on the NHL lineup, or join Aitcheson in a return to the OHL, after recently signing his first pro contract. New York’s patience with signing Aitcheson seems to indicate the runway Schaefer will receive. Meanwhile, Victor Eklund will return to Sweden’s SHL for next season, after he supported Djugardens IF to a promotion from the HockeyAllsvenskan last year.