Flyers send Luchanko back to junior to further his development

Jett Luchanko

      Jett Luchanko has a very bright future in professional ice hockey.

      It’s just that he’s not quite ready to really start that journey yet.

      The Flyers could have allowed Luchanko to play a maximum of nine games before deciding to either keep the 18-year-old player for the season or send him back to his junior team.

      As it turns out, the Flyers saw enough in four games to make up their minds.

      Luchanko is headed back to Guelph of the Ontario Hockey League and the transaction did not come as a real big surprise.

      He held his own with the Flyers but the center probably will get more ice time with his junior team.

      During a pre-game press conference on Saturday, general manager Daniel Briere said Luchanko made a good first impression but there’s really no point in rushing the kid.

      He also added the move had nothing to do with the Flyers’ slow (1-5-1 before Saturday) start.

      “We think it’s the best thing for his development,” Briere said. “We’ve said it from day one. It’s not about how good Jett can be this year, it’s thinking three, five, seven years down the road.

      “First of all, we didn’t expect him to stay in the (training) camp. I didn’t think he had much of a chance to stay. He had a very good camp. He made us better. That’s why he was in the lineup.”

      Luchanko averaged more than 14 minutes of ice time, about the same as Scott Laughton. He had a chance to play with experienced wings.

      “At the same time, we know where we are,” Briere said. “It’s tough to be patient because you want to ice the best team possible right away but we feel for his development Jett play a lot of minutes. He needs to go learn to be the guy – I think he has a good chance to play for Team Canada at the World Juniors.

      “The last three weeks, being here with the main team was a great experience for him. But we have to realize there’s more to it. It’s important for him to play heavy minutes. Be the guy who learns to drive the offense, be a leader on his team. We’re not trying to create a fourth-line center. We think he has more upside than that and we want to give him the chance to become that player.”

      Luchanko was the Flyers’ first pick (13th overall) in this year’s draft. The London, Ontario native stands 5-foot-11, 187 pounds.

      He had been scratched the past couple games so it felt like a decision like this was coming.

      “We said we’re not going to keep him around just to keep watching games,” Briere said.

      Briere was asked what benefits Luchanko might have gotten from playing in four NHL games.

      “Playing at this level, knowing how hard it is, knowing now what it takes to play here, how physical, how fast the game is. . .when I came in (as a player) I remember thinking ‘I’ll never be able to play at this level, it’s way too fast.’

      “I’m not saying he experienced that but it takes time. It takes time for your brain to develop. The other thing is we wanted to protect him physically.  You look at the last few years, a lot of the 18-year-olds who came in, there were a lot of injuries.”

      Briere pointed out that Luchanko was scratched in the recent Calgary game because it was on the tail end of a back-to-back. Luchanko had played well enough in the season opener at Vancouver to play against the Flames but the Flyers thought it prudent not to overtax the youngster.

      “The experience of being around the team, conduct yourself like a pro and learning from some of our leadership how to carry yourself around an NHL dressing room, it’s a valuable experience,” Briere said.

      This whole experiment was worthwhile because it gave Luchanko a chance to see how the big game is played at an early age. Now he has a target to shoot for.

      “We told Jett we want him to push the limits,” Briere said. “And not just settle into trying to play safe. We want him to find out how far he can push his offense without being a liability.”

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About Wayne Fish 2587 Articles
Wayne Fish has been covering the Flyers since 1976, a stint which includes 18 Stanley Cup Finals, four Winter Olympics and numerous other international events.