Siobhan's Opinion: Flyers Sitting Jett Luchanko Was The Proper Determination

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October 14, 2024

The Philadelphia Flyers are beginning off the 2024-25 season with a four-game West Coast highway journey, together with latest back-to-back video games towards the Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames.

It is a grueling schedule to start out the season, particularly when you’re a freshly 18-year-old participant who’s getting his first style of the NHL like Jett Luchanko.

Make no mistake—Luchanko has confirmed that he can sustain with the calls for of NHL video games. His skating potential speaks for itself, and head coach John Tortorella spoke a number of instances of the younger heart’s “elite conditioning” all through his infamously enervating coaching camp drills.

He held his personal in his debut towards the Canucks, the place he grew to become the youngest participant to ever debut for the Flyers, and left audiences usually fairly glad along with his efficiency.

It was perplexing for some, then, when the group confirmed that Luchanko would come out of the lineup towards the Flames, being changed by Noah Cates. In many individuals’s minds, Luchanko nonetheless deserved to be on the roster—so why wasn’t he?

The reply that Tortorella gave makes a whole lot of sense: “Younger child, a whole lot of journey, time adjustments, all of the issues that include this primary journey with us. We thought it was greatest to provide him the one sport.”

Jett Luchanko (left) and Flyers captain Sean Couturier (right).<p><button class= — Jett Luchanko (left) and Flyers captain Sean Couturier (proper).

Megan DeRuchie-The Hockey Information

He is appropriate. Luchanko’s contract permits him to play as much as 9 video games within the NHL (an audition of kinds) earlier than the Flyers should determine to maintain him within the execs or ship him again right down to juniors. The 18-year-old earned his spot proper out of camp (whether or not it was the precise transfer for his growth is subjective), however now that he is right here, the Flyers should be extremely cautious with how they distribute his sport time.

GM Danny Briere has harassed that the group is making each choice with Luchanko’s long-term growth in thoughts. It is clear that they’ve a really excessive opinion of him and are simply as excited because the followers are that he is seemed pretty much as good as he has, but it surely’s an extremely delicate state of affairs to have a participant as younger as Luchanko present a lot promise this early on.

Briere referenced how, relating to younger youngsters within the NHL, it might go both means—some guys thrive underneath the expectations, and a few guys crumble. There’s actually no telling who will have the ability to deal with the warmth, in order that they’re taking the time to be extremely strategic with how they use their younger star.

Danny Briere says that there’s arguments on each side relating to whether or not or not placing Luchanko within the NHL roster is a good suggestion—some youngsters thrive, some don’t. Stated there’s “no clear path” and that they’re simply doing what they will to assist him succeed. #LetsGoFlyers

— Siobhan Nolan (@SGNolan) October 7, 2024

Scratching Luchanko towards the Flames wasn’t a knock on how he performed towards the Canucks. It is almost definitely simply that the Flyers do not wish to blow via his 9 video games in a single go, and never give themselves sufficient time to totally analyze how he seems to be as an NHL participant earlier than making a choice.

The Flyers have been locked on Luchanko throughout this yr’s draft for a motive, and now that they have their man, they are not going to take any probabilities relating to growing him into the participant they imagine he might be. He already has the character of an expert (Tortorella is a large fan of his “method, management, [and] quiet confidence”), and now it is only a matter of constructing certain they do not rush him into the professionals, however on the similar time, do not let him languish in an surroundings that he is outgrown in juniors.

It is a constructive signal that the Flyers are going to such lengths to guard Luchanko as he navigates his stratospheric ascension from a draft choose followers weren’t eager on to a bona fide star within the making. When Luchanko lifts the Cup inside the subsequent decade, we’ll be grateful he was scratched towards the Flames final evening.