Left-handed defenseman Kashawn Aitcheson said he saw "the worst parts of yourself" in his interview with the Penguins at the NHL's scouting combine in Buffalo.

The Penguins' strategy in their meetings with prospects over the course of the week was to come prepared with videos of lowlights showing the player making mistakes or otherwise questionable decisions, and having them explain the clip and what they could have done better.

"You look at it, and you're like, 'Wow, I can't believe I really did that,'" Aitcheson said with a laugh of the experience. "But it's a great way to see how you could get better, why you did it, other outlets where you could have changed or improved to not do that thing again."

Aitcheson told me he was happy with his meeting, and felt as if he gave some "pretty good responses" to the challenges the Penguins presented him.

The Penguins evidently, agreed, too. Aitcheson was one of the few prospects that Kyle Dubas, Jason Spezza and Wes Clark took out for dinner for a more in-depth meeting that week, and the invitation came after that initial formal interview.

The Penguins are set to pick at No. 11 in the draft later this month, and Aitcheson is largely projected to go right around then, or into the later teens. The DailyFaceoff May rankings have him ranked right at No. 11, while Elite Prospects has him slightly later at No. 18. 

If Aitcheson is still around at No. 11, he'd make for an interesting pick.

Aitcheson, 18, is a two-way defenseman whose strengths are his offense and physicality. He has good strength for a player his age, measuring 6 foot 2 and 199 pounds. The Elite Prospects Draft Guide called Aitcheson a "throwback defenseman," saying he "hunts big open ice hits, connecting those every chance he gets, and sometimes stretching the window of legality. Saying that he makes his presence felt would be underselling it."

Aitcheson called his "compete" his biggest strength at the combine.

"I play with a lot of grit, a lot of heart, and I do whatever it takes to stick up for anyone," he said. "Just that two-way, sound game that shuts down the other team's top lines, but also contributes when the opportunities there."

Aitcheson found those opportunities to contribute often for the OHL's Barrie Colts last season. His 59 points tied for the team lead, and his 26 goals led the team in his 64 games. He attributed the success in scoring to his extensive work on his shot, working with dedicated shooting instructors last summer. He's not just racking up a bunch of point shots, he's someone that can join the rush and move up in the play when warranted.

Where Aitcheson said he thinks he can improve is "picking my spots better" in general, saying, "I think I want to make an impact every shift, but sometimes that can kind of hurt me."

Barrie's general manager and coach Marty Williamson compared Aitcheson to more of a Jacob Trouba-type in that regard in an interview with NHL.com, but noted that he's still able to play that role in a clean way.

"He hasn't taken any bad penalties or anything," Williamson told the league site. "You wouldn't call him dirty. You'd call him hard-nosed, and that's the way I look at Jacob Trouba when I evaluate his game. I think he's a hard-nosed defenseman who's hard to play against, has great leadership qualities. Kashawn checks a lot of those boxes, that's for sure."

If there's a position the Penguins could stand to bolster the most in the draft this summer, it's high-end left-handed defense. After Owen Pickering, there's just a sizable drop-off between him and the next-best left-handed defense prospects in the system. Aitcheson, with his pro-ready size and physicality, as well as his potential to bring real offense, would make him a nice add to that shallow pool.