Jett Luchanko’s place in the Flyers’ Top 25 Under 25 has slipped again, and the conversation around him has only gotten louder since Philadelphia made him the 13th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.
At the time, the choice stirred plenty of debate. The Flyers passed on the online favorites - defenseman Zeev Buium and Finnish center Konsta Helenius - and went with the fast, detail-driven center from Guelph instead. Now, after a 2025-26 season that left plenty of room for interpretation, Luchanko has dropped from No. 6 to No. 10 in the ranking.
The numbers are hard to ignore: 7 goals, 36 assists, 43 points in 38 games, then just seven points in 15 playoff games once he joined the Brantford Bulldogs. On the surface, that’s not the kind of line that makes anyone feel great about a top-15 pick. It’s easy to look at the stat sheet, compare him to the other options the Flyers had that night, and come away frustrated.
But there’s more to this season than the raw totals.
Luchanko spent the year bouncing between teams and never really found stable footing. His production in Guelph was respectable for a Draft+2 center, even if it didn’t scream star potential.
The bigger issue came in Brantford, where his role changed dramatically. He went from being the first-line center and offensive focal point in Guelph to being just another piece in a deeper lineup, and for much of the season he was pushed to the wing instead of being used in the middle, where he’s been comfortable throughout his life.
Brantford already had a playmaking center in Jake O’Brien, which made Luchanko’s usage less than ideal.
There was also the injury piece. Luchanko dealt with a nagging issue for months, and it’s only now getting treated. Put all of that together and it’s easier to understand why his production dipped the way it did.
That doesn’t erase the season, though, and it doesn’t remove the pressure that comes with what’s next.
Luchanko is moving into his first full professional season and won’t be going back to juniors. The expectation is that he’ll spend most of his time with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, and this year is about consistency more than anything else. The Flyers want to see whether there’s a real NHL player in there, and they’ll make sure he’s in the best spot possible in Lehigh Valley, whether that means first-line center duties or a slower adjustment to pro hockey.
A specific stat line is hard to pin down, but something around 40 points, paired with the kind of dominant two-way play that uses his speed to full effect, would go a long way toward restoring confidence in the pick.
As for the ceiling, the dream version of Luchanko is a very good second-line center who kills penalties, chips in around 60 points, and works on the second power-play unit - basically a Swiss Army Knife down the middle. The more realistic outcome is a third-line center with real skill and tools, the kind of player who doesn’t fully bloom right away but still becomes useful in a big way. A Ryan McLeod type in Buffalo is the comparison here, and that’s a path plenty of Flyers fans would take.
There’s also a less encouraging route. Based on what he’s shown over the last couple of seasons, Luchanko could end up as a player who gets NHL games but never quite turns into much more than speed and small details. That possibility is very real, and it’s why the next several months matter so much.
For now, the verdict on Luchanko is simple: the future is still there, but he has to start proving it.
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