Last Saturday night at Sadlon Arena, many eyes were on the Brampton versus Barrie matchup. Both teams have several NHL prospects on their rosters, and their clubs will be monitoring their development throughout the year.
Additionally, a couple of first-round candidates for the 2025 NHL Draft were playing: Porter Martone from Brampton and Kashawn Aitcheson from Barrie.
This game had a playoff feel to it. Barrie and Brampton are seen as contenders to come out on top of the Eastern Conference this year. The Steelheads came out on top in their first meeting of the year 4-1, but the Colts got their revenge on Saturday with a 4-2 victory.
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However, it came with a cost at the end of the game.
Brampton captain Porter Martone got involved in an altercation with Colts defenseman Kashawn Aitcheson near the end of the first period during a stoppage in play.
The two were going at it all game long. Martone was committed to finishing his hits on Aitcheson any chance he got, while Aitcheson made sure that Martone felt the weight of his lumber with some heavy cross-checks whenever they were involved in a puck battle.
Ironically, the two players were teammates on Team Canada at the IIHF U-18 Men’s World Championship last spring where they captured gold together.
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Kashawn wanted to impress the NHL scouts in attendance and show that he could shut down the OHL’s leading scorer and potential top-five pick for the upcoming draft.
Well, number 77 accomplished his mission. Martone was held off the scoresheet for the first time this season last Saturday night, but their feud continued after the final horn buzzed.
With the seconds counting down, Aitcheson got the puck in front of his crease and quickly dumped it away. Martone was tracking the puck and decided to softly lay his shoulder into the defenseman. That poked the bear and sent Kashawn into a tyrant.
Aitcheson immediately started throwing punches at Martone as they grappled each other to the ice. Despite the linesmen quickly getting between the two, Porter clearly wasn’t happy and was trying to pry and get his hands on Kashawn.
Just when you thought their altercation was done, Aitcheson kept swinging even with a linesman between him and Martone. Both players received five-minute penalties for fighting on the scoresheet but Aitcheson was also given a game misconduct for being an aggressor.
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That aggressor game misconduct led to the OHL suspending Aitcheson for two games.
#OHL Disciplinary Action:
Barrie’s Kashawn Aitcheson has been suspended for two games as a result of actions (Game Misc., Aggressor) on Oct. 12th vs. Brampton.
— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) October 13, 2024
Aitcheson is a hot-headed player who embraces the physical aspect of the game. However, that has led him to be extremely undisciplined at times in his OHL career and get carried away with his aggressiveness.
The 2025 NHL draft-eligible prospect defender will miss Barrie’s next two matches against Owen Sound and Ottawa. He is eligible to return on Thursday, Oct. 24, when the Colts host the Erie Otters.
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