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| Courtesy of Sportsnet.ca |
Phanatic Hockey Editor
Former first-round pick Jett Luchanko will apparently get to play in one place this year and from all indications, it seems like it will be with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Prior to the Sept. 12 rookie game in Allentown, his presumed new boss, John Snowden, gassed up the AHL as a prime proving ground. He touted the unique benefits of learning how to play on the doorstep of a legitimate pro career with respect to skating, puckhandling and how much time and space can be utilized in a teaching environment.
“For a player like him, who’s got an offensive upside … we want to push the offense with him because we know he’s responsible and makes the right decisions without the puck,” he noted. “Our job is to continuously show him the opportunities he has offensively and keep pushing the envelope on his ability to create.”
Luchanko’s progress, as the No. 1 suspected media leaker stated last week, has not been “uneven.” Rather, it’s been downright stunted by his wonky path up and down the amateur and professional ladder.
Since 2023, he’s been with Guelph in the Ontario Hockey League (head coach Chad Wiseman), Guelph (new head coach Cory Stillman), the Flyers (head coach John Tortorella), the Phantoms (head coach Ian Laperriere), the Flyers (head coach Rick Tocchet), Guelph again (Stillman), traded to Brantford (head coach Jay McKee) now presumably back in Allentown.
Mix in that core/groin/pelvic floor injury which apparently affected him for most of the last two seasons – which wasn’t enough for him to slam on the breaks, for which he underwent surgery that prevented him from auditioning at rookie camp the last 2 years – the truth becomes evident.
It’s not so much that Luchanko bears all the responsibility to prove himself, but the organization bears a good bit of responsibility for providing a stable environment after putting him through the ringer.
Nonetheless, the messaging at all times has been that a bona-fide speedy puck-handling center should “shoot more.” Someone got in Luchanko’s ear in the summer of ‘24 and he himself offered up the need to develop that part of his game to team-friendly beat Adam Kimelman. Ian Laperriere, then the Phantoms head coach, first broached the subject in multiple reports two years ago.
That core injury Luchanko suffered through? It’s one that affects lower-body positioning needed as a foundation before the upper body activates in a shooting motion – something nobody connected with the club has apparently noticed, or cited, as a mitigating factor.
Just that he needs to “shoot more.”
One theory I floated last summer, was the revelation that the Flyers, through multiple coaching and front office regimes, have never drafted and developed a single traditional pure goal scorer. That means, centers playing wing, wings playing center and of course, pressure put on centers to be more than simple drivers of forward offensive flow to make up for the deficit.
That column focused on the longer-term issues prevalent in constructing poor power plays, but the logic still stands for what the club expects out of Luchanko by himself.
Given just one chance in front of the media before the rookie series opener on Sept. 11, Luchanko was neither specifically asked about the organization’s wish for him to shoot more, nor did he provide an off-the-cuff answer on the issue when asked about offseason prep.
However, the clearest answers arrived from someone looking in from above – Flyers director of player development Riley Armstrong.
During an Inquirer-based podcast episode from Sept. 16, Armstrong hit viewers fairly early on with the money quote: “I definitely think, with his speed, his vision, his playmaking, I definitely think he’s gonna ‘pop’ this season.”
At least nobody in the organization is asking Luchanko to sacrifice what he already has, to make room for shooting.
Armstrong continued: “The one thing that I loved, he went down on a 2-on-1 and I forget who he was with in the game, and I was yelling ‘SHOOT’ and he did shoot. He didn’t score, but I’m glad he shot the puck because that’s something we’ve been preaching to him. He’s always a pass-first kind of guy so, to see him start to build that confidence and get that mindset, is definitely a step in the right direction.”
And when asked later whether there’s a “hyper-focus” on shooting while giving Luchanko instruction, Armstrong admitted that there is an awareness in opposing players, who are committed to studying and knowing each other’s tendencies well before puck drop.
“When you become a ‘pass-first’ guy, goalies figure you out pretty quick,” he said. “We always talk about being a dual threat. Once you start shooting and have the ability to pass, you keep everybody guessing. That’s something we’re trying to push for in his development.”
If the Flyers braintrust is insistent Luchanko embrace a skill set closer to a top-six or even top-line centers possess, it’s fair to look at some comparable pivots in franchise history.
Pelle Eklund. Eklund arrived in 1985 direct from the Swedish Elite League at age 22 and eventually set a franchise record for assists (51) and points (66) by a rookie center, despite being essentially a spare part for head coach Mike Keenan for the first half of the season.
Once he gained Keenan’s trust as a fluid skater, reliable passer and counterpart on the power play for Tim Kerr’s still-standing NHL record of 34 power-play goals in a season, his place on the roster was cemented.
As he grew in responsibility and confidence, Eklund’s forte with the puck was something only seen previously in the North American game from Wayne Gretzky – not just control through the neutral zone and blue-line entry, but a way of dictating the offensive flow for his teammates and against defenders while possessing.
This is what I envision if the franchise wants Luchanko to possess as long as possible while creating his own scoring chance, this gem in Winnipeg from the spring of 1993:
Over his injury-plagued 9 seasons here, Eklund’s best goal-scoring year was 23 in 1989-90. Especially if that coveted 1C role is filled, what’s wrong with only potting 15-to-18 if 50-or-more-assists are right next to it on the ledger?
Mark Recchi. A more traditional Canadian breed of center, one who was equally adept at positioning to intercept passes or turnovers and reversing flow as he was at digging out pucks along the boards and dishing out to start a rush.
His 53 goals and 123 points in Eric Lindros’ rookie season and expansion year of 1992-93 still stand as single-season team records for centers. Recchi netted 103 goals over his first 190 games with Philly, then came back after an exile on Ste. Catherine Street by recording 20-or-more goals in his 5 full seasons here (1999-2004).
These are among the prettiest goals in Recchi’s repertoire, a home-ice hattie vs. the Capitals in 2001:
Mike Richards. Although more widely recognized as a deadly penalty killer who could turn on the jets and create shorthanded chances, Richards did make some bones as a puck-possessing driver of offense and shooter, particularly on the power play.
His brand of positioning forced the opposition to be mindful of a pivot who could distribute and collect north-south and laterally, like in this goal scored early in the 2009-10 season against the Capitals:
As the coveted 1C starting in 2007, Richards netted at least 30 goals twice and had 4 straight 20-or-more goals in his final seasons in Orange and Black – numbers he never even chased over the remainder of his career despite two Stanley Cups. Even so, it took 2 years of NHL-level development before those gaudy numbers appeared.
Claude Giroux. If not when considering both impact and hardware, but definitely for sheer longevity, the second-best center in franchise history was Ground Zero for any debates about the effectiveness of shuttling a player between center and wing. Eight 20-goal seasons and a 34-goal, 100-point performance in the expansion year of 2017-18.
Giroux was killer with open space, like in 4-on-4 OTs, using a combination of separation speed and shootout-level mind games to fool goaltenders. My guess is they need Jett to look something like this 2018 extra session winner:
Heading into his 18th full pro season, Giroux ranks 9th in total points among all players since 2005 and is borderline for Hall of Fame consideration alongside Anze Kopitar and John Tavares. Luchanko's ceiling would need to be sky high and his progression so fast, to come close.
Whatever brilliant idea lurks in Armstrong or Briere’s mind and vision, the dress rehearsal was last night in Hershey, when Luchanko was the 2C. The real story should begin to be written starting Oct. 3 at home vs. Hartford.
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