Philadelphia Flyers prospect Jett Luchanko has made waves in the team’s rookie and training camps, and although he only just turned 18 in August, there’s already rampant speculation that he could make the NHL roster this season.
Jett Luchanko gets some drills in with the top-level guys. Definitely will be interesting to see what they do with him for the rest of preseason, considering how consistently strong he’s looked this summer. #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/VB7lgSIhom
— Siobhan Nolan (@SGNolan) September 25, 2024
Luchanko has thoroughly impressed audiences all summer, with remarkable performances across games in the Flyers’ development, rookie, and training camps.
The young center has, of course, been showing off his terrific skating abilities, proving that he’s able to hold his own skating with NHL-caliber players.
But his skating abilities have been discussed ad nauseam (for good reason, but still). The Flyers aren’t keeping him around just for that.
Luchanko has proven that, even in game settings, he doesn’t shy away from the action. He gets involved on both ends of the ice, follows through on ambitious offensive plays, and displayed an ability to read the game that most players his age can only dream about.
Related: Jett Luchanko Is Still Taking It All In As He Flourishes In Flyers Rookie Camp
He held his own during John Tortorella’s infamous skating test on the first day of training camp, with veterans like Erik Johnson highlighting how well he handled such a grueling drill in his first-ever NHL camp.
Tortorella echoed that sentiment, saying that Luchanko has been “in elite condition” throughout training camp, noting that “he’s a strong kid” and that “we’ve heard about his work ethic.”
The Flyers head coach also said that the 18-year-old’s maturity is a standout quality, noting that Luchanko hasn’t had to ask him many questions throughout camp and that he believes that “he’s handled himself really well.”
That particular characteristic is one that Luchanko has “always tried to take pride in,” adding that “[I’m] doing everything to the best of my abilities and hoping that coaches can put me over the boards at any time.”
Megan DeRuchie-The Hockey News
Tortorella hinted that fans could expect to see Luchanko feature in multiple preseason games—evidenced further by the fact that he survived the first round of cuts to the preseason roster, where many junior hockey players tend to get re-assigned back to their CHL teams to further develop their games.
Some have even gone as far as suggesting that Luchanko has impressed enough to force the Flyers to make room for him on the NHL roster for 2024-25 season—which, if it were to happen, would make Luchanko one of the youngest players to ever debut for the team.
While it hasn’t been confirmed whether or not the organization will add him to the top group, it’s clear that he’s made a fantastic impression on everyone around him. For Luchanko himself, though, he’s just trying to soak in as much experience and information as possible while he’s at camp.
“It’s cool to kind of be around these guys and just watching and learning from them as much as I can,” he said. “It’s hard not to get starstruck, but at the end of the day, it’s just hockey, so when you go on the ice, it’s business as usual.”
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