Kashawn Aitcheson’s first NHL training camp with the Islanders ended with a reassignment to Hamilton on Sunday morning, but the 20-year-old defenseman still left a clear mark.
The Islanders’ 17th overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft stayed with the NHL group until the final stages of camp, and that alone said plenty about the ground he covered over the past few weeks. He was never handed an easy path to an opening-night job, especially with established defensemen already on the roster, but he forced his way into the conversation.
That was the real win for Aitcheson.
His game showed exactly why the Islanders took him in the first round: he plays with a physical edge. General manager Mathieu Darche pointed to that quality during an intermission interview with Shannon Hogan on Saturday night.
“He's not afraid to mix it up,” Darche said, while noting the adjustment Aitcheson was making from junior hockey to facing NHL competition.
Darche expanded on that assessment by stressing that Aitcheson did more than just hang around camp.
“He's done well so far at camp, and he's put himself in the conversation,” Darche said. “The physicality, he had a few shots tonight, but all camp, he made his presence felt.”
That mattered because the jump from the OHL to NHL camp is no small thing. Last season, Aitcheson was lining up against teenagers. This fall, he was dealing with NHL forwards, a faster game and the grind of the pro level.
He didn’t crack the roster, but he also didn’t fade into the background. For a prospect entering camp trying to prove he belonged, that was the assignment. And by the end of it, Aitcheson had done exactly that.
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