Jett Luchanko will not be on the ice for any of the Flyers’ development camp this week.
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“He had a little lower body thing going on,” director of player development Riley Armstrong said Monday. “Should be back skating next week, and he’ll be ready for training camp, though.”
The injury is a “lingering” one, Luchanko said, that has impacted him for a “couple of years,” but he declined to go into specifics about the injury or his recovery.
“It’s been dealt with, and I should be good for training on the ice next week,” the young center said. Luchanko missed last year’s development camp and rookie camp with a nagging groin ailment.
He doesn’t expect the injury to impact his offseason training, outside of holding him out of on-ice activities at development camp. This offseason is critical for the Flyers’ 2024 first-round pick, who has aged out of the Ontario Hockey League and will be fighting for a full-time NHL roster spot for the first time on a team with a lot of depth up front.
Luchanko, who turns 20 in August, made the NHL roster out of camp each of the last two seasons, but played just four games each year before getting sent back to the OHL. Including playoffs, he has not logged a point in any of his nine NHL appearances. He tallied seven goals and 43 points in 38 games in juniors last season split between the Guelph Storm and the Brantford Bulldogs.
“We expect a big summer out of him,” general manager Danny Brière told the Inquirer ahead of the draft. Luchanko is an elite skater, but is still looking to develop his all-around offensive game.
Luchanko should be “good to go” to get back in the gym next week, he said. The center said he wants to spend the summer working on “attacking with the puck, using my speed as much as I can.”
Jack Berglund, a second-round pick of the Flyers in 2024, will also miss on-ice activities at development camp with an undisclosed injury.
Berglund’s exclusion is viewed more as precautionary after he played a lot of hockey this year, according to Armstrong. In addition to playing 40-plus pro games in Sweden, the centerman participated in the World Juniors, World Championships, and had a brief spell in the American Hockey League with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
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Grebenkin skates
Nikita Grebenkin was a welcome sight on the ice during development camp Tuesday. Grebenkin played 55 games for the Flyers and scored four goals and added 10 assists, serving as a bottom-six spark plug after being acquired the previous season in the Scott Laughton trade. He missed the final months of the season following an upper-body injury in March.
Briére said at the end of the Flyers’ season that Grebenkin’s injury could keep him out for the start of next season.
There was no official update on Grebenkin’s health, but seeing him on the ice could be a positive sign for his training camp availability. Grebenkin was also wearing No. 17 on his helmet, possibly his new number after Luchanko, who previously used the number, switched to 77.
Back to school
East Lansing is turning into Little Philadelphia with the number of Flyers prospects moving through that program. Porter Martone played one season at Michigan State last year, becoming one of the school’s highest-ever drafted players and ranking in the top 10 nationally with 50 points.
“Having Porter there was unbelievable,” Flyers prospect and fellow Spartan Shane Vansaghi said. “Right from Day 1, the first day I met him, just the nicest kid, really good teammate, and one of those guys that you just want to have on your team, you want to play for, and really good in the locker room. He fit in really well at Michigan State, and got along with everybody, and I think everyone really liked him.”
Now, fellow Flyers prospect Matthew Gard is also committed to Michigan State, starting in 2027, and said that Martone and Vansaghi’s endorsements of the school’s player development helped him make his decision. Gard said they spoke especially highly of the strength coaches, who Martone is headed back to East Lansing to work with again this summer.
There’s no rivalry brewing yet with 2025 first-round pick Jack Nesbitt, who will start at Michigan in the fall, but he’s not ruling it out.
“We’ve been chatting a little bit, no rivalries yet,” Nesbitt joked. “I’m sure when we see who’s going to go farther, I’m sure there’ll be some chirping. We’re good right now, but I’m sure there’ll be something in the future.”
Breakaways
Flyers prospects Carter Amico and Jack Murtagh were selected for the Team USA World Junior Summer Showcase, putting them on the early list of prospects in contention to make the American team for December’s World Juniors in Alberta.