After some impressive development camp, training camp, and preseason performances, the Philadelphia Flyers will soon have a tough decision to make on 2024 first-round pick Jett Luchanko.
Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images
Based on merit – and it’s still early – Luchanko has earned the right to continue to battle for an NHL roster spot. The Flyers themselves have said that they won’t deny Luchanko that chance.
But is time in the NHL wise for the Guelph Storm ace, who turned 18 only a few weeks ago?
The Flyers’ main concern is developing Luchanko’s offensive game, not necessarily helping him develop good habits defensively or things of that nature. The 18-year-old already plays with good details, but the question is more about if or when he becomes a finished product at both ends of the ice.
We live in an age when athletes are getting better earlier, and more top draft picks are making early debuts in the NHL.
One example that best fits Luchanko is how New Jersey Devils center Nico Hischier broke into the league immediately after being drafted.
Yes, Hischier was the No. 1 pick in the 2017 draft, but the situation he walked into is similar to the one Luchanko is in the middle of with the Flyers.
Taylor Hall had been tasked with carrying the Devils’ offense, which was so dismal that it almost single-handedly prevented the team from making the playoffs every year. Does that remind you of Flyers All-Star Travis Konecny at all?
Hischier never had to shoulder the burden of tough defensive minutes on his own, either. Veteran center Travis Zajac was second to only Hall in ice time amongst Devils forwards in the 2017-18 season and comfortably led the team in faceoff wins and faceoff attempts.
By the end of the 2017-18 season, Hischier attempted 983 faceoffs, won 422 of them (42.9%), and averaged only 16:19 of ice time. The Swiss center, who was stapled to Hall for virtually the entire season, finished with 20 goals, 32 assists, and 52 points, with only six of those points coming on the power play.
Since then, Hischier has reached the 30-goal and 80-point milestones as he developed into a perennial Frank J. Selke trophy candidate and one of the league’s best minute-eating two-way centers.
Flyers Parallels
Although Hall won the Hart Trophy with 93 points and the Devils reverted to being a bad team after the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs, New Jersey still managed to put Hischier in a good situation.
Hischier was insulated by a number of veterans, including Hall, Zajac, Adam Henrique (traded midseason), Kyle Palmieri, Andy Greene, Brian Boyle, Drew Stafford, Ben Lovejoy, and others.
Flyers captain Sean Couturier is effectively Philadelphia’s Zajac who can serve as the go-to guy in certain high-pressure situations. The Flyers, too, have plenty of other veterans to assist Luchanko, including Konecny, Joel Farabee, Erik Johnson, Travis Sanheim, Rasmus Ristolainen, Garnet Hathaway, Scott Laughton, Ryan Poehling, and more.
It’s important to note, too, that Hischier wasn’t the only youngster on that Devils team. Jesper Bratt also made the Devils as a teenager, and former top draft pick Pavel Zacha cracked the roster just before Bratt and Hischier arrived.
Together, the three young players developed some strong chemistry, though Zacha never fully realized his potential and later turned the corner after being traded to Boston.
Luchanko will have the chance to experience the same thing in Philadelphia with fellow Flyers rookie Matvei Michkov and young cornerstones like Jamie Drysdale and Tyson Foerster.
The obvious downside is that Luchanko struggles with consistency and scoring like Zacha did, though Zacha was moved back to center after arriving in Boston and excelled there. If John Tortorella and the Flyers are more patient with Luchanko, it could pay dividends in the short and long term.
It’s entirely possible that Luchanko doesn’t reach the same heights Hischier reached, but his floor should be close. Playing with NHL-quality players will almost assuredly help the London, Ont., native develop his offensive instincts and bravado with the puck, and Luchanko’s defensive instincts are already high-end.
Further to that point, Jack Hughes only scored seven goals in his rookie season. This is just to say that the process of developing young NHL players isn’t always linear and two career arcs usually aren’t the same. Hard work and self-awareness are virtues that are required of the athlete in these situations, too. If Luchanko works relentlessly at developing his shot, who’s to say he can’t score 30 goals in the NHL?
The risk assessment is ultimately up to the Flyers to conduct, but the decision to send Luchanko back to Guelph rather than keep him and develop him in Philadelphia might not be as clear-cut as some think.
