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Flyers 2024 first-round pick Jett Luchanko will celebrate his 19th birthday on August 21. He’s still too young to play in the American Hockey League in 2025-26 because the exemption rule for the AHL/CHL age rule does not kick in until the following year.
Luchanko made the Flyers’ opening-night NHL roster last season, largely because former head coach John Tortorella lobbied successfully on the youngster’s behalf. Tortorella was impressed with the teenager’s defensive awareness and speed. Luchanko made his NHL debut on opening night in Vancouver. However, he only dressed in three additional games, seeing sparing ice time. The Flyers returned Luchanko to the OHL’s Guelph Storm on October 26, 2024.
Playing on a struggling squad that missed the OHL playoffs, Luchanko posted 56 points (21 goals, 35 assists) in 46 games. First and foremost, Luchanko is a playmaker. Guelph severely lacked finishers to convert created chances into goals. However, along the way, the 18-year-old center represented Team Canada at the World Junior Championship tournament.
Luchanko’s run with Lehigh Valley
Luchanko finished the year with nine stretch-drive games (three assists) and seven Calder Cup playoff matches (six assists) for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. His final playoff shift saw him generate a nifty assist in an unsuccessful comeback bid in the fifth and final game of a playoff series against the Hershey Bears.With the exception of Game Two of the first-round miniseries against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Luchanko outplayed linemate Alex Bump during Lehigh Valley’s playoff stint.
“It was definitely a good experience for me overall,” Luchanko said during his July 5 media availability. “I got to see a lot of different players, coaches and teams. It was great, especially to end up back in Lehigh with some familiar faces in the organization and play some meaningful playoff hockey.
Nagging groin pull
In July, Luchanko attended his second Development Camp with the Flyers. Unfortunately, he was unable to participate in the on-ice sessions due a minor injury and the wear-and-tear of his marathon 2024-25 campaign.
“It sucks not to be able to go out there but I’m just doing what’s best for me right now. I don’t think it’ll be an issue at all coming forward,” Luchanko said.
As a precaution, Luchanko also sat out the recent World Junior Summer Showcase for Team Canada. He did not aggravate the injury. However, neither the Flyers nor the player himself wanted to take any chances.
Luchanko’s strengths and developmental needs
Luchanko, who appears to have added some upper-body muscle since last year to his 5-foot-11 frame, is one of the NHL’s fastest-skating prospects. He’s an outstanding natural playmaker on a Guelph team that lacked players who could consistently finish scoring chances. The center also brings an exceptionally mature 200-foot game, which was one of the key factors that enabled him to win an NHL spot out of training camp last year.
One aspect that’s been a work in progress for Luchanko: shooting the puck. Flyers development director Riley Armstrong and Keith Jones, the President of Hockey Operations, noted last summer that Luchanko has a very good shot and deceptive hands. Lunchanko himself noted during the Calder Cup playoffs that he’s tried to focus on shooting a bit more frequently.
It’s notable that he produced one more goal in 18 fewer OHL games than his 2023-24 totals. However, Luchanko did not bag a goal in his four NHL games or combined 16 regular season or playoff games with the Phantoms. Often playing with goal-scoring winger Bump during the playoffs, Luchanko set up numerous scoring chances. Even so, mixing in a couple goals himself would have been an ideal offensive accomplishment.
Flyers choices: NHL or Guelph
Come training camp Luchanko will get a long look from new Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet. Ultimately, the Flyers will have to decide whether Luchanko will benefit more in the long run from graduating to the NHL at age 19 or spending one final season in junior hockey.
If he’s in the NHL, Luchanko appears likely to primarily play a bottom-six role at 5-on-5 during his rookie season. General manager Daniel Briere has said that, in the long term, they envision Luchanko as a top-six playmaking forward who can play in all game situations. However, he may not be ready to handle such a role right off the bat.
Conversely, if he goes back to junior hockey, Luchanko will continue to play at the top of the lineup in the OHL. Ultimately, he could get traded to a contending club, where he’d have more talent around him than in Guelph. The drawback: the OHL really isn’t a suitable level of challenge for Luchanko at this point. It’s not about whether he’ll have a big points year as a draft-plus-two (he will if healthy, especially if he he goes to a better team). Rather, it’s about continuing to build his game to compete at the NHL level.
The American Hockey League would have been perfect for Luchanko next season. Unfortunately, the rules don’t allow it. Likewise, because he’s already under entry-level contract and has played professional games, an NCAA collegiate season was not an option.
“Luchanko made the Flyers’ opening-night NHL roster last season, largely because former head coach John Tortorella lobbied successfully on the youngster’s behalf. ”
I don’t think Torts had to lobby very hard because DB and Jones also wanted (needed?) Jett to make the roster. They drafted a try hard forward over a consensus #1 dman that they have been looking for forever and which is also impossible to find. They made a “smartest man in the room” move in drafting Jett over Buium, the kind that can get you fired if ownership cared about building a winner, and so are very invested in Jett proving them right sooner rather than later.
This is not a knock on Jett, he was just over drafted based on who was still available because the flyers gave the excuse that he’s “too small”.
Regardless of what’s best for Jett (because obviously that was ignored last year and 2 out of the 3 people involved in that disaster are still in charge while the 3rd pulled the rip cord on the Flyers disaster of a season) Zeev turned pro so Jett will make the team. It’s all about the optics.
Flyers management doesn’t care at all if the fan base wanted Buium (or Helenius or anyone else) over Luchanko. That’s not what they base picks on, and didn’t feel compelled to justify it. Now, time will tell if they’re right or wrong. But public opinion had zero to do with Luchanko making the opening night roster last year.
You are moving the goalposts. I didn’t say that the Flyers based their picks based on fan reactions, it’s obvious they don’t or we wouldn’t be having this conversation.
DB when asked by the media regarding the Luchanko whether size was a reason they didn’t draft Buium : “Well, when you look at our defense, you have it right. I think Zeev Buium is gonna be a great player, and he’s someone we considered strongly. But with Cam York, Jamie Drysdale, Emil Andrae – at some point, it gets tough to go with the smaller guy. But he’s a fantastic player,”
So yes, they did feel compelled to justify it. Also, optics are huge with the current front office. Fletcher was fired because the fans turned on him, it wasn’t because he sucked. Comcast didn’t care until the fans started staying away. So the PR blitz on all social media platforms commenced. Good thing they are an international media company
The new regime is extremely social media friendly starting with the unprecedented social media blitz, fronted by Torts, on Cutter Gauthier. Who can forget DB and Jonesy picking Michkov up at the airport, carrying his bags, and chauffeuring him around. How lucky we were that the Flyers PR team was on hand for that. What great guys.
Torts was the best thing since sliced bread on all social media platforms and if you thought about saying otherwise, you’d better hope you don’t get a paycheck from comcast. That is until Torts voluntarily jumped from the train about to hit the wall last year. It’s kind of funny that Torts knew where this team was before the media experts admitted it.
Luchanko did not “force his way onto the roster” in last year’s camp. Nobody can objectively say he earned a roster spot. Are you saying he did? Just saying Torts wanted him or that DB doesn’t care what the fans think doesn’t end the conversation.
Objectively, it was the wrong call and many said so at the time and then he played like what, 4 games? But hey he made the opening night roster, the optics say that it was a good pick if he made the roster right?
Do you want to talk about the Flyers playing short handed on defense at the beginning of the season (while also refusing to play Jett) because they were the smartest guys in the room or the incessant line changes which became an internet meme?
So so many mistakes.
“I’m not really interested in learning how to coach in this type of season, where we’re at right now.”.
Jett making the team would be a positive PR boost after that disaster, would it not? Old time hockey! Flyers hockey!
You really need some editing and formatting tools on here. Hopefully they are in the works.
I wanted to add that they didn’t hire long time color commentator Jonesy for his business savvy and long front office track record. The man wasn’t even looking for a job. They hired him because he knows how to shake hands and kiss babies. He didn’t even have to take a night class from Wharton to get the job.