The Philadelphia Flyers raised a few eyebrows during the 2024 NHL Draft when they traded their initial 12th overall pick for the 13th overall pick, using it to select 17-year-old center Jett Luchanko as their first pick of the draft (with Michael Buffer to announce the pick, no less).
The Philadelphia Flyers raised a few eyebrows during the 2024 NHL Draft when they traded their initial 12th overall pick for the 13th overall pick, using it to select 17-year-old center Jett Luchanko as their first pick of the draft (with Michael Buffer to announce the pick, no less).
The Philadelphia Flyers raised a few eyebrows during the 2024 NHL Draft when they traded their initial 12th overall pick for the 13th overall pick, using it to select 17-year-old center Jett Luchanko as their first pick of the draft (with Michael Buffer to announce the pick, no less).
The pick admittedly left viewers a bit confused—why pick Luchanko when names like Zeev Buium would've been available to the Flyers at No. 12? Sure, he's a talented player who essentially carried the OHL's Guelph Storm for the entirety of last season, but it did seem like a bit of a reach for the Flyers front office.
However, Flyers GM Danny Briere made it clear that Luchanko wasn't a last-minute panic pick. They had an idea of what they wanted from this year's draft, and they were determined to add his abilities to the roster.
"What happens is there's a lot of information that you're gathering. We didn't want to move too far back because Jett was our guy that we wanted," Briere explained. "We had a feeling when we saw the board, the way it was coming down, that we could move back a little bit. We explored different options, but [the trade with Minnesota] was the only one that was safe enough and gave us the chance to acquire more draft capital. We were very careful to not move too far back because we really wanted Jett."
It's not difficult to see why they liked him so much. First and foremost, Luchanko is a center, which is a position that the Flyers desperately need more depth in. Briere has said as much himself, and made it clear that they would prioritize acquiring centers as much as possible with their picks.
He's also a lightning-fast and agile skater, and has proven himself to be extremely effective on both the powerplay—fellow Flyers prospect Oliver Bonk revealed that the London Knights called Luchanko a "one-man powerplay break-in"—and the penalty kill. He can also generate tons of offense, coming up with creative passes and making space for either himself or his teammates to score.
He attacks the net with an admirable fearlessness, and doesn't shy away from the physical battles despite not having a ton of muscle on him just yet. His coaches have also noted that he's eager to learn and improve at every opportunity, bringing a good attitude to the ice and the locker room every day.
Luchanko has a lot of promise—he had a solid first development camp the week after he was drafted, not to mention he signed his entry-level contract quite literally right after finishing up the cumulative scrimmage played on the last day of the camp session. He's expected to return to the OHL for further development, and while he'll certainly need a year or two before fans should start anticipating a potential NHL debut, Luchanko's trajectory is looking nothing but positive as it stands right now.
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