Jett Luchanko's audition with the Flyers officially came to an end Saturday as the club sent the 18-year-old prospect back to his junior club Guelph.
The Flyers could have played Luchanko five more games before burning the first year of his entry-level contract. But they felt the time was now for the 2024 first-round pick to play all-situation minutes for the OHL's Storm and push for Team Canada's 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship roster in December.
"We think it's the best thing for his development," general manager Danny Briere said before the Flyers' 7-5 win over the Wild. "We've said it from Day 1, it's not about how good Jett can be this year; it's thinking three, five, seven years down the road."
Luchanko was the biggest surprise of training camp, making the Flyers' season-opening roster not even two months after turning 18 years old. The speedy center played a trustworthy game but went scoreless with three shots in four outings.
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The Flyers were careful with him. He was a healthy scratch three times in the team's 1-5-1 start, including the back-to-back set against the Capitals this week. With the Flyers entering Saturday on a six-game skid, John Tortorella didn't want to force Luchanko back into the lineup.
"In the mess we're in right now at the start of a year," the head coach said Friday, "I'm not looking for an 18-year-old to try to get us out of it."
And the Flyers want him playing as much as possible.
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"Especially not playing the last couple of games, we've said it, we're not going to keep him around just to keep watching games," Briere said.
"He had a very good camp, he made us better and that's why he was in the lineup. At the same time, we know where we are. It's tough at times to be patient because you want to ice the best team possible right away. But we feel for his development and to have the best Jett Luchanko, he needs to go play a lot of minutes, he needs to go learn to be the guy."
The Flyers have been very pleased with Luchanko's rise. They grabbed at him 13th overall this summer. Briere said there's no guarantee he makes the Flyers next season but, of course, they'll look for him to push. Luchanko can play for Guelph this season and next.
"His development in the last, probably, seven or eight months has been amazing," Briere said. "And that's part of why we want to send him back, to give him the chance to keep pushing the limit on his development."
Luchanko's maturity has stood out to the Flyers. They saw it when they gave him the news.
"I felt like I was talking to a 20-year veteran when we told him," Briere said. "He totally understood, anyway that's the impression he has given us. I think he's excited to see his friends. He's disappointed in leaving because he told us, 'It's like living my dream right now.'
"But at the same time, he's excited to see his friends and his teammates and having the chance to be the go-to guy, have a big role. As a hockey player, that's what you want. It's exciting when you know you're going to be the guy. He's going to have that chance now."
With the Luchanko decision and Cam York's injury, the Flyers could make a pair of roster moves after Saturday's game.
