Islanders Sign Kashawn Aitcheson

The New York Islanders have signed 2025 first-round pick Kashawn Aitcheson to a three-year, entry-level contract. Aitcheson’s season with the OHL’s Barrie Colts came to a close on March 4th. The high-scoring defenseman capped off the year with one goal.

Aitcheson led all OHL defensemen in csoring this season with 28 goals and 70 points in only 54 games. His 1.30 points-per-game average ranks in the top-20 among OHL defenseman since 2000, though Aitcheson’s 0.52 goals-per-game average has only been topped by four players in that time frame – Brandt Clarke, Zayne Parekh, Sam Dickinson, and Nicolas Hague.

Aitcheson found a unique mix of aggression, physicality, and scoring prowess through four seasons with the Colts. After netting just three points in his first 23 games in the league, the left-defender boomed with 39 points and 126 penalty minutes in 64 games of the 2023-24 season. He balanced out those totals ahead of his draft year last season, ending the year with 26 goals and 59 points – both best on the Barrie roster. This season, while serving as Barrie’s captain, he found a mix of both, emerging above a point-per-game pace and ranked second on Barrie in penalty minutes (86).

Through his OHL career, Aitcheson set the record for the most goals (63) and points (171) scored by a Barrie defenseman. He beat out the previous marks of 40 goals and 158 points set by Clarke through three seasons. Aitcheson also scored four points in seven games of the 2026 World Junior Championship and notched three points in seven games at the 2024 World U18 Championship.

Aitcheson’s unique style was enough to earn the 17th-overall selection in the 2025 NHL Draft, joining a great Islanders draft class led by Matthew Schaefer and Victor Eklund. Now, New York will get to test how Aitcheson can translate his heavy-hitting and strong-scoring to the pro flight. He will be eligible to join the NHL roster right awway – but won’t be able to play in the AHL, as he won’t turn 20 until this summer. At 6-foot-2, 200-pounds, Aitcheson could have the frame needed to ease into NHL minutes sooner rather than later.