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Drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers with the 13th overall pick of the 2024 NHL Draft. Right from the start, it was a controversial pick. To his credit, Luchanko has never focused on skeptics’ opinions of his upside or performances in the last two World Junior Championships. His sole focus has been on using his speed and two-savvy to become a solid pro. At age 19, he’s played eight NHL regular season games and one playoff game. Additionally, last year, he played nine AHL regular season games plus seven playoff matches.
At the junior level — and the AHL — Luchanko has shown potential to be an above-average playmaking forward with a mature all-around game. However, key aspects of Luchanko’s game have come under scrutiny.
- Reluctance to shoot the puck, despite having a hard shot.
- Questionable assertiveness and playing overly “safe” hockey.
- Average size for a potential NHL center.
- Underwhelming offensive performance at the World Juniors.
However, it’s important to keep in mind just how young Luchanko is. He’s only a few weeks older than 2025 first-round pick Porter Martone. Their respective birthdays fell on either side of the cutoff for the 2024 Draft. More importantly, no two players develop on an identical timetable.
The bad news on Luchanko’s development so far: he has not made a significant impact in his NHL games played to date. He also failed to dominate at the junior level in his Draft-plus-two season. Based on norms, he tracks so far as more of a future bottom-six forward than a likely candidate for a top-six spot.
