@Jesse while you're here, I saw you mentioned you were going to release a comprehensive list for who you like at #11. It seemed like you really like Aitcheson, what stands out with him? I'm personally a bit iffy on his puck skills and how well his offense will translate to the NHL, do you not think those are major concerns?
26 goals out of a defenseman in any juniors is insane, but it seems like that goal scoring ability probably won't translate to the NHL. That said, he seems like a decently likely pick for the Penguins that fills a huge organizational need.
My list is gonna be out soon. I'm launching a little bit of a project along with it. Really excited to share.
My big concern with Aitcheson is his skating. It's really my only concern. It's a little bit too long in the stride at times and while he generates a lot of power that way it makes it really hard for him to take off in specific situations.
I do not think he has the puck skill of a bonafide elite offensive defenseman, but I think his bucket of skill is good enough to keep up with his desire to be involved offensively, which is extraordinary. He's jumping into the rush, he's using what skill he does have to create good zone entries, and in the offensive zone, he's moving around constantly. Sneaking in the back door, looping in and out of the circles, he understands how to be a functional participant offensively.
Now, flip the script to the other side of the ice. He is definitely overzealous with trying to kill people in the defensive zone. I don't think it's been detrimental to Barrie's success, but it happens. Gonna require coaching up to pick his spots better. That being said, I think he keeps an excellent gap. His pivot and ability to quickly react to changes in both tempo and play direction and pristine. I think he follows the law of stick-length on gap control really well. Across the entire CHL he was in the 90+ percentile for zone entry denial. I've seen people question his gap length, not something I've ever really felt concerned with.
In-zone, he's good. Gets in front of a lot of shots. Cleans up his area defensively super well. But it's puck retrieval work I love from him. He makes smart decisions. You'll see him use the Murphy Dump a lot to spring his forward colleagues with little area-dumps that are positioned perfectly for them. He knows when to skate and when to peel off and wait for help. He makes himself available to his partner for emergency exits really well.
Again, I don't view him as a top pairing guy. I think his ceiling is a really solid, two-way number four that you can deploy in almost any situation regardless of circumstance. If he doesn't hit that, it'll be because he lacks a half extra gear. That's my big issue.
At the end of the day, if you take a look at the defensemen in this class beyond Schaefer, and ask the question of who impacts their games the most? It's Aitcheson for me. Easy. He's doing it across three zones. You see him changing games from sets of work in the OZ, NZ, and DZ. I do not see another defenseman beyond Schaefer who is consistently doing that.
