Flyers’ Jett Luchanko has come a long way in such a short time

While Philadelphia Flyers fans are jacked up to see Matvei Michkov don the orange and black this season, there is another fresh face hoping to make an impact during his rookie season.

The Flyers took Jett Luchanko 13th overall in this past year’s NHL Draft, with the London, Ontario native signing his entry-level contract just a few weeks later. That is how highly they think of Luchanko, who has rapidly developed into an elite player with the OHL’s Guelph Storm.

After scoring just 14 points in his rookie season with Guelph in 2022-23, Luchanko catapulted up the ranks to scoring 20 goals and 54 assists for 74 points in 68 games. He was also a key player during Team Canada’s run at the 2024 IIHF Men’s Under-18 World Championship, registering seven points as the Canadians went on to win the gold medal.

On Thursday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Daily Faceoff draft expert Steven Ellis joined Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk to discuss Luchanko’s rapid rise from a solid prospect to being on the opening-night roster in the NHL.

Steven Ellis: This is a player who just seems to have everything going for him right now. So much confidence. I felt like early on in his OHL tenure, he was a bit hesitant to make a big play, he was trying to keep things too simple. It was kind of around that midpoint last year where he was starting to take more chances, he believed in himself, and then we saw at the World Junior Summer Showcase where I thought he was actually one of Canada’s better players.

I think this is someone who is riding high right now. I want to see him play as much as he possibly can before sending him back to Guelph. He’s a player that reminds me a lot…of Yanni Gourde who’s just got that speed and he’s going to work hard.

You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…