Jett Luchanko is making waves with his smooth, confident style of play in Flyers rookie camp, and is looking to continue building off of his summer success.
Jett Luchanko's career with the Philadelphia Flyers started with a bang.
First, Flyers GM Danny Briere traded down from No. 12 to No. 13 at the last minute—a move that naturally sent Flyers fans into a bit of a tailspin.
"He's a center in the way he works, the way he plays," Briere said. "He's a complete player. He's very young still...and got better and better as the season went on. We feel that, yes, he's a center, absolutely, and that he's just starting to tap his potential. We're really excited about having a chance to get him. There were other good players in that area we were considering, but there wasn't a big enough difference to go in a different direction. Taking a center was an important piece for us."
Then, once the trade was finalized, legendary boxing announcer Michael Buffer announced to the entire Sphere in Las Vegas that the Flyers had selected "Jetttt Luchankoooooo..."
Safe to say, it's been a whirlwind summer for the 18-year-old center, and in the two months since he got drafted, he's still processing the whole experience.
"It's been pretty crazy," Luchanko admitted. "I don't know if it's really sunk in yet; I haven't had that much time to myself. It's nice to be here and I'm excited to get going."
He had a good primer for rookie camp after seriously impressing fans with his performance in the Guelph Storm's preseason sessions, which he says helped the transition into an NHL camp a lot smoother.
"It's definitely nice to get some games in before coming here and getting comfortable on the ice," he said. "I felt like I played really well and our team looked really good as well, so it's nice to play a couple games to get ready for [rookie camp]."
As one of the youngest players in this year's draft (he just turned 18 on Aug. 21), Luchanko already possesses abilities far beyond his years. A dynamic and versatile center that excels on both the powerplay and the penalty kill, and has a skating style that's perfectly balanced between fast, graceful, and powerful.
"It doesn't affect me playing against some older players," he said of being one of the younger guys in camp. "I try to just play my own game."
One player that he's formed a maybe unexpected bond with is none other than Matvei Michkov. The two were put on a line together in the first day of camp, and have showcased an astounding amount of natural chemistry in the days following.
Lehigh Valley Phantoms head coach Ian Laperriere has repeatedly praised how the two play together, saying, "They have a great relationship. They played together [in the first game of the Flyers' Rookie Series] and have been practicing together. If you have those guys in your top six in the future, the future is bright. They have different qualities, but they're both special players."
For Luchanko, the bond between the two formed pretty naturally, but it's one that he looks forward to continuing down the line.
"We kind of just got out there and started playing, started feeding off of each other," he revealed. "[Michkov] obviously could probably play with anyone and makes it easy for me, so hopefully we can keep that going."
It hasn't been difficult for them to communicate, using the universal language of hockey and Michkov's constantly-improving English skills to strengthen their relationship.
"It's a great way for us to connect, but he's gotten really good with his English, especially with how little he knows and how new it is to him," Luchanko said. "He's done very well with it, so it's not hard to communicate with him."
He likely won't get a chance to play with Michkov on the Flyers this season, instead heading back to the OHL for the 2024-25 campaign, but as he continues his development, he doesn't have a laundry list of specific goals in mind. Instead, he's jusy going to keep working in accordance with a philosophy that he's stuck to his whole career: "I think, for me, one thing I always live by is hard work every day and come to the rink and try to get better," I think good things come from that."
For now, though, he's still settling in with the Flyers system and getting to know guys who could very well be his teammates in the future. They'll hang out, maybe get dinner together and catch an Eagles game.
"I never really had a team before," Luchanko admitted, although he is a big football fan.
Make no mistake, though—he knows who he's throwing his support behind now that he's in Philly, assuring that he "think[s] the Eagles have a really good team."
This summer has proven that Jett Luchanko is one for the Flyers faithful to keep a close eye on—if your brain has time to register him before he darts to the other end of the ice, that is.
