This is the first piece in a new series in which I will highlight a player in professional hockey who played their junior career in the OHL. It only seems fitting with the NHL season opening this week to talk about an unexpected pro in Philadelphia Flyer, Jett Luchanko.

Jett was born in 2006 and grew up in London, Ontario. He played his U16AAA season with the London Jr. Knights of the Alliance Hockey League, where he posted a respectable 46 points in 21 regular-season games and an additional 16 points in 8 playoff games. He finished the year as the second-highest scorer on the team, behind the 2023 OHL 1st overall pick in Ryan Roobroeck, and won the 2022 Alliance League Championship. Off this success he found himself selected 12th overall in the 2022 OHL Selection Draft by the Guelph Storm. With only two seasons under his belt in the OHL, in which he was 16 (rookie season) and 17 years old, Jett has scored 25 goals and 63 assists, of which 4 of these goals and 33 of the assists came while on the powerplay. Jett found himself as the top center for Guelph last season after Matthew Poitras unexpectedly made the Boston Bruins roster and immediately became the top scorer on the team despite being rushed into the role. In the 2024 NHL Draft, the Flyers organization shocked many by reaching for Jett at 13th overall, yet three months later he made the opening night roster to start his NHL career at 18. He has played his way into the NHL after his draft year before 11 other players who were selected before him in the draft, with the only other player to make an NHL opening roster from this class being Macklin Celebrini (1st overall to the San Jose Sharks). So what makes Jett Luchanko so successful at his young age?

From a skill perspective, Jett lives up to his name thanks to his elite skating, particularly his speed and ability to efficiently maneuver around opponents. He skates using linear crossovers to build speed and can quickly pivot, making him very effective at dictating the pace of play. You will often see him driving the play up the middle using his speed to create passing lanes as he excels as a playmaker more than a finisher due to his weaker shot, though he does have an effective backhand. His quick hands can’t be undervalued either as they allow him to dance around sticks, make quick passes, and be hard to defend against one-on-one due to how many options he has to beat defenders this way.

However, it’s not his skills that made him stand out to me back in his rookie season of the OHL, though his speed was impressive, but his intangibles. Jett has great vision, a good IQ, and isn’t afraid to play physically. What makes him an excellent player though is his mentality. He is tenacious, playing close while defending in neutral ice, utilizing smart stick positioning and his speed to pressure attacks on a rush. In his end, he is good at taking the inside position to his crease, battling players for those secondary opportunities, making him a reliable two-way player. This also makes him a very versatile player, an effective setup man on the power play, a tenacious penalty killer, and a great neutral zone player while 5-on-5. He can do a lot and he is willing to do what is needed while on the ice, even if the play requires him to get physical and play along the boards.

These are the reasons I think Jett has found himself already playing in NHL games and while I don’t think he will be a top-line player, he has a very probable professional NHL career ahead of him as a middle six guy. With this in mind though, I still think he needs to learn to apply his tools better to fully reach his offensive upside, and while he has made John Tortorella’s opening roster the Flyers might see value in giving him another year of junior hockey to do so.