For the second straight season, 2024 No. 13 overall pick Jett Luchanko will break camp with the Flyers, general manager Daniel Brière told reporters, including Charlie O’Connor of PHLY Sports.
Last year, Luchanko’s stay was brief. The 5’11” center was freshly 18 and only made four appearances, going pointless with a -3 rating, before the club returned him to the OHL’s Guelph Storm by the end of October. The situation might be the same this time around, Brière cautioned. He said that Luchanko making the team “doesn’t mean he’ll stay all year” and that he “has to earn his ice time,” according to O’Connor.
While those kinds of comments would generally mean a loan to the minors for a prospect in need of ice time, that’s not something the Flyers can do. Luchanko is still 19 and, according to the terms of the NHL’s transfer agreement with the three CHL leagues, must be returned to Guelph if he’s not on the Flyers’ active roster, unless it’s for a conditioning stint. Brière told O’Connor that the club’s wanting to keep Luchanko with their own development staff for longer, rather than sending him to the Storm, was a factor.
Luchanko was a late riser in the 2024 class, but Philly is still happy with their selection one year on. A non-top-10 pick making the team out of camp in his post-draft year is a rarity and a testament to Luchanko’s pro readiness, at least in the eyes of the Flyers’ staff. After the Flyers returned him to Guelph last year, he assumed the captaincy and dominated offensively with a 21-35–56 scoring line in 41 games on one of the league’s worst squads.
Luchanko is technically still a rookie because he played under 25 games last season. He’ll be one of two rookie forwards to break camp with the club alongside winger Nikita Grebenkin, who Philadelphia acquired from the Maple Leafs in last year’s Scott Laughton trade. The latter could be the beneficiary of greater ice time out of the gate – he’s spent a good chunk of camp as a wingman for Sean Couturier and Travis Konecny and could get a long look in the top six to begin the season as a result.