Penguins Could Eye OHL Defenseman As Pick In NHL Draft

After the Penguins officially introduced their new head coach Dan Muse to the media, Pittsburgh will now shift its attention to the 2025 NHL Draft.

The team will be picking at No. 11 in the first round, their only selection in the round. While the Penguins will try to address multiple holes, one hole they could try to address is their blue line. A player that some NHL experts say could help fill that gap is OHL defenseman Kashawn Aitcheson.

Aitcheson is a physical defenseman who has some grit to his game while also still having a scoring touch. With the Barrie Colts this season, he ranked third among all OHL defensemen in goals and seventh in points with 26 goals and 33 assists for 59 points in 64 games played.

The defenseman showed steady improvement during the 2024-25 season, adding 20 more points to his points total compared to 2023-24.

“Aitcheson adds significant physicality to Pittsburgh’s system while also having the size, mobility and skill of a top-four NHL defenseman,” The Athletic’s Corey Pronman said.

While names like Lynden Lakovic were floated around to go in the same area as where the Penguins are picking, NHL expert Scott Wheeler believes Lakovic will be off the board before Pittsburgh picks.

“Going into the combine, Lynden Lakovic is a name I kept hearing a number of the teams in the 11-19 range liked,” Wheeler said. “Then he did well in his interviews, by the sounds of it. I think he’s going to go higher than people think, and I think the Penguins are the start of where he’s in the mix. But lefties Aitcheson and Jackson Smith make a lot of sense for their pool, which has emerging righty Harrison Brunicke but little coming on the left side. The Penguins also spent time with both at the combine.”

The Penguins will officially pick on Friday, June 27 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.

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