aitken was drafted 8th overall in the 1996 nhl entry draft by the boston bruins. he played in three games over the course of his two-year entry-level contract. for the 2000–01 season he went to the czech republic to play for hc sparta praha of the czech extraliga. he returned to north america after only a year, and made it back to the nhl during the 2003–04 season with the chicago blackhawks, playing 41 games, scoring just one assist. he moved to the austrian hockey league for klagenfurt ac for the 2006–07 season before retiring from professional hockey.