Jett Luchanko has a shot to stick with the Flyers, but the franchise is still laser-focused on his future

This time last year, Jett Luchanko was just happy to be here.

The Flyers’ 2024 first-round pick was a new face whom the team didn’t expect to make it all the way through camp, but Luchanko stuck with the team and made his debut on opening night.

Luchanko is still just 19 years old, and the Flyers have their eye on his long-term development. But there’s a bit more urgency to prove he’s taken those next steps and to earn another crack at the NHL and to stick for good.

Rick Tocchet, who had a long conversation with Luchanko on the ice after Wednesday’s practice, has been trying to instill more details in his offensive game.

“He’s an intelligent kid, 19 years old,” Tocchet said. “Whether or not he’s on our team, there’s a lot to like about him. I think there’s more offense to his game. I think he passes too much, and we have to unlock that.”

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What Luchanko has been able to show off during preseason is his speed and skating, especially on zone entries and his defensive game, both of which have impressed Tocchet and the coaching staff.

To take the next step, Tocchet wants him to find a way to use that speed to start scoring.

“Using my speed as much as I can,” Luchanko said. “I think that’s probably my biggest asset. So I think that’s what they’ve communicated to me, is just to use that to my advantage.”

Tocchet is treating Thursday’s game against the New York Islanders like a potential dress rehearsal for the regular season, with many of the expected NHL regulars on the game-day roster.

But a few of the players fighting for the final spots on the Flyers’ opening-night roster, like Luchanko, won’t be hitting the ice at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Thursday.

Even when not playing in the preseason, when instituting new systems and concepts, watching film and the game unfold can still be useful. “There’s a lot we can watch from up top and still try and get better by watching,” Luchanko said.

The Flyers prospect started the 2024-25 season on the main roster and got into four games, scoring no points, before he was sent back to his junior team. Luchanko feels more “comfortable” in his second NHL training camp, but hasn’t gotten on the score sheet in four preseason appearances.

The Flyers can play Luchanko in nine NHL games in 2025-26 without burning the first year of his entry-level contract, so the team might be inclined to keep him up to give him another opportunity at the this level. Luchanko is not eligible to play in the AHL at just 19, so if he doesn’t make it with the Flyers, he has to go back to Guelph.

Tocchet said he wants to keep eight defensemen on the roster, which leaves just one spot for a 13th forward. In preseason, Luchanko played primarily at center, alongside Nikita Grebenkin, Owen Tippett and Garnet Hathaway.

With Trevor Zegras in the mix, the Flyers have four NHL centers: Zegras, Sean Couturier, Noah Cates, and Christian Dvorak, which could impede Luchanko this season. Tocchet said he is already searching for ways to get Dvorak more involved in the lineup outside of just his role on the fourth line.

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Another contender for that final spot is Rodrigo Abols, who played in every preseason game heading into Thursday and impressed, scoring two goals with five assists. But Tocchet isn’t convinced that the 29-year-old is an NHL player just yet.

“There is something there, and now he’s got to find it,” Tocchet said. “When you’re on a bubble, you’ve got to do something consistently, every day. That’s the rules of the NHL. You’ve got to see it from him every day.

“It’s almost like he’s got to be uncomfortable when he plays. It’s my job to make him comfortable, knowing the system and helping him out, but he’s got to have that uncomfortable feeling, like, if I want to make the NHL, it’s gonna be hard every day. That’s just the way it is.”

Tocchet and the Flyers will make opening-night roster decisions after Saturday’s final preseason game against the New Jersey Devils at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Regardless of the short-term outcome for Luchanko, the Flyers are laser-focused on the first-rounder’s long-term potential.

“We’ve just got to be patient, whatever we do with him, and give him a little bit of time,” Tocchet said.