Flyers have ‘lots of faith’ in Luchanko, who could benefit from a few things originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
With all the travel, all the places and people, it would be hard to blame Jett Luchanko if he felt more like a nomad than a hockey player the last two seasons.
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Consider this: Luchanko played in Philadelphia, Allentown, Guelph, Brantford, Ottawa and St. Paul. That was for five teams at various levels, from the NHL to the AHL to the OHL and the world junior championship.
All as a teenager.
“It’s definitely a little bit exhausting sleeping in a different bed a lot,” Luchanko admitted in May. “It’ll definitely be nice next year to kind of know I could be in one spot for a longer time.”
Life as an NHL prospect, especially a first-rounder, requires being on the move and ready to climb. But Luchanko has been through his experiences and adversity, perhaps more than most prospects his age.
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This season, having his feet on the ground could help him. Good health could go a long way, too.
“His speed, his skill set, there’s lots there,” Flyers assistant general manager Brent Flahr said. “Hopefully a full summer to train and train properly this year will really help him and build his confidence for training camp.”
Luchanko, who the Flyers selected at 13th overall in 2024, was not on the ice at development camp this summer. The 19-year-old center had surgery on his core area to address a nagging issue. The Flyers, though, were not worried about his status for the rest of the offseason and heading into the fall.
“It has been lingering for quite a while, a couple years,” Luchanko said in June. “It has been dealt with and I should be good for training camp and on the ice next week, that’s the plan.”
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Between Guelph and Brantford last season, Luchanko didn’t explode offensively in his final junior campaign. He put up seven goals and 36 assists in 38 games. The goal total was down from his previous season, when he had 21 in 46 games for Guelph. Last season, he was traded to league-leading Brantford in November and missed time down the stretch because of a fractured jaw.
“It’s not very fun,” Luchanko said of the injury. “You’re just eating kind of mashed up meats. I lost some weight, but I’ve been able to get it back.”
He started last season with the Flyers and finished it with them in the second round of the playoffs. He played in the club’s elimination loss to the Hurricanes. And the Flyers are hoping this injury to his core area is in the past.
“I have lots of faith in Jett,” Flahr said in July. … “It has been lingering for about a year and a half, it has been a problem. He’s working out lots down there, he should be skating within the week and he’ll be ready to go. It has been a frustrating thing for him, but he doesn’t like to make excuses.”
As we wrote in March, Luchanko’s NHL ceiling will hinge on how much offense he can provide. This season will be his first full one at the pro level. He’s projected for AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley, which would make the most sense for his development. It would allow Luchanko to get situated and build up his game.
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“Where Jett plays this year is up to Jett,” Phantoms head coach John Snowden said in June. “I know he’s going to prepare himself the best that he can because he’s a very astute kid and he works his butt off to make sure he’s ready for things. So wherever he plays is wherever he plays, but for me, if it is with us, I’m very excited for us as a staff to get our hands on him and really start to help him mold his game into the NHL level.”
The Flyers will look for Luchanko to be more assertive with the puck.
“Work through his offensive touches and see if we can get that offense going that he has inside of him,” Snowden said. “He’s a very smart player, he skates like the wind, we’ve all seen that, he understands the defensive responsibilities and playing off the puck.
“We want to push that offensive side this year, really challenge him to be a threat when he’s on the ice. Be a threat to shoot, be a threat to take pucks to the net. We don’t have to pass every single time. Just be a dual threat all over. His skating is going to give him that advantage; now we’ve got to make him see those opportunities to attack.”
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