Top Philadelphia Flyers forward prospect Jett Luchanko is coming into his own during his first postseason experience as a pro player.
Luchanko, 18, is far from a finished product, especially offensively. It may very well take him until his mid-20s to reach his ceiling in that department, but we'd be remiss to ignore the very obvious flashes the Flyers' 2024 first-round pick is displaying in the Lehigh Valley Phantoms' Calder Cup playoff run.
Believe it or not, Luchanko has made the OHL playoffs with the Guelph Storm before. Twice, in fact. The first time was his D-1 season in 2022-23, and the second was in his D0 (draft year) season in 2023-24.
The 18-year-old had only 14 points in 46 games in the 2022-23 season, which was his first season in the OHL. Luchanko and the Storm lost to the Sarnia Sting in six games in the first round, wherein the then-fledgling had one assist.
The Storm allowed no fewer than four goals in five of the six games, and lost the first three games by scores of 5-0, 5-4, and 8-4. And, it is worth noting that Luchanko went without a shot on goal in each of the last three games of the aforementioned series against the Sting.
Despite the two wins, it was really not much of a competition.
Last year, Luchanko's Storm saw the Soo Greyhounds come in and sweep them in four games, notwithstanding Luchanko's three assists in three games to start the series.
Now, after having already made his NHL debut with the Flyers, Luchanko is in the midst of his first real playoff experience. One where Luchanko and the Phantoms have something to play for, and where games flat-out mean more for everyone.
Many of these AHL players, on the Phantoms and on other teams, are fighting for jobs. Those jobs may be in the NHL or the AHL, but they are jobs.
Luchanko himself is a candidate to make the Flyers outright again next season, but he, like his teammates, has to earn that and fight for that. This Calder Cup run is the best place for the Flyers' top forward prospect to strut his stuff before the real fun begins in training camp a few months from now.
So far, the London, Ontario, native is taking advantage in a big way.
In two playoff games with the Phantoms, Luchanko has racked up four assists, hastily surpassing the three assists he had in nine prior AHL regular season games.
Sure, the eight penalty minutes in two games is a minor issue, but everyone would rather Luchanko be involved in plays than not, for better or for worse.
Aside from his readily apparent blazing speed, Luchanko has consistently flexed his playmaking chops.
In a 5-2 Game 1 win against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on April 23, Luchanko showed one of the many things he can do at the peak of his powers.
Picking off a Penguins defensive zone turnover at his offensive blueline, Luchanko took possession of a loose puck and wheeled down the right wing boards, eventually gaining the zone 1-on-4.
After using his speed to circle deep into the zone and behind the net, Luchanko pulled up at the left circle, whipping a pass through five Penguins defenders and teammate Garrett Wilson to find Anthony Richard at the right circle for a one-timer goal.
This element of Luchanko's game has been a strength of his since the Flyers drafted him in June, but the two question marks that need the most work are his shooting and consistency.
In 15 professional games between the Flyers and Phantoms, Luchanko has yet to find his first pro goal to complement his seven assists.
For instance, Luchanko failed to record a shot on goal in the Game 1 against the Penguins referenced above despite recording two assists on the evening.
In Game 2, Luchanko picked up another two assists, including the secondary helper on the game-winner scored by defenseman Helge Grans, while also adding three shots on goal.
Before this, Luchanko had gone three games in a row without a shot on goal.
Good or bad, this is all useful information for the Flyers. The more Luchanko plays, the easier it will be to pick up on his habits and pick things out to improve or continue.
In Game 2, for example, Grans enters the zone on his own before executing a drop pass to a trailing Luchanko. After pivoting inside, Luchanko makes a nice heads-up play to find Richard cutting to the back post.
Some players might opt to pull up and shoot a puck through heavy traffic, but it is clear that Luchanko's first offensive instinct is to defer and look for another pass.
This works out for Luchanko, as he has the skill to pull off such a high-difficulty pass to create a big scoring chance for his teammate. He gets bonus points for the assist, as Grans was able to turn around and swat a juicy rebound into the goal to win the game.
At the NHL level, Luchanko will have to add more wrinkles to his game to thrive on the stat sheet, but at the AHL level, his vision, speed, and passing abilities are too hot for the average player to handle.
Luchanko's processing speed and decision-making have shown clear progress, and perhaps the Flyers' top forward prospect is willing himself to an even higher gear in these playoff games.
These are the kind of things a Flyers organization starved of playoff hockey wants to see from its up-and-coming players. Which players want to be here and want to succeed here? Who can push themselves and their teammates to another gear when the stakes are raised?
Right now, it looks like Luchanko is indeed a prospect capable of accomplishing this in Philadelphia, and that has to be an encouraging feeling for this Flyers front office.
