Jett Luchanko (born August 21, 2006) is a Canadian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

and

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of the

Guelph Storm The Guelph Storm are a major junior ice hockey team based in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. They have played in the OHL since the 1991–92 season. The team plays home games at the Sleeman Centre. History The franchise started as the Toronto Marl ...

of the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; ) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League, alongside the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The league is for players ag ...

(OHL) while under contract to the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL). The Flyers selected Luchanko in the first round, 13th overall, of the

2024 NHL entry draft The 2024 NHL entry draft was the 62nd NHL entry draft, entry draft for the National Hockey League. It was held on June 28–29, 2024, at Sphere (venue), Sphere in the Las Vegas Valley. As per their April 2024 agreement, all draft rights held by ...

Early life

Luchanko was born August 21, 2006, in

London, Ontario London is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River (Ontario), Thames River and N ...

. A childhood fan of the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

of the

, his favorite ice hockey player was

Mitch Marner Mitchell Daniel Marner (born May 5, 1997) is a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected fourth overall by the Maple Leafs in the 2015 NHL entry draft. Playin ...

. Luchanko also idolized

Nick Suzuki Nicholas Suzuki (born August 10, 1999) is a Canadian professional ice hockey Centre (ice hockey), centre and Captain (ice hockey), captain for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the first round, 13th ov ...

, who he watched play

minor ice hockey Minor ice hockey or minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body c ...

. While quarantined at the height of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, Luchanko's father converted their basement into a personal gym, which improved Jett's strength and fitness while he could not play hockey. Luchanko spent the 2021–22 season with the London Jr. Knights of Alliance Hockey, during which he had 22 goals and 57

points A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to: Mathematics * Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...

in 27 regular season games, with another four goals and 16 points in eight postseason appearances. He also had a brief stint with the

Strathroy Rockets The Strathroy Rockets are a junior ice hockey, junior ice hockey team based in Strathroy-Caradoc, Strathroy, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Western division of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. History In 1965, the Rockets joined the ...

of the

Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League The Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League (GOJHL) is a Canadian junior ice hockey league based in Southern Ontario, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Association, Ontario Hockey Federation, and Hockey Canada. The league is c ...

, with one goal and one assist in four games.

Playing career

The

of the

(OHL) selected Luchanko 12th overall in the 2022 OHL Priority Selection, and he signed with the team that May. Luchanko scored his first

junior ice hockey Junior ice hockey is amateur-level ice hockey for 16 to 20 year-old players. National Junior teams compete annually for the IIHF World Junior Championship. The United States men's national junior ice hockey team are the defending champions from ...

goal on October 1, during Guelph's 10–6 loss to the

Saginaw Spirit The Saginaw Spirit are a Junior ice hockey#Major junior, major junior ice hockey team based in Saginaw, Michigan, Saginaw, Michigan. They are members of the West Division of the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), one of the ...

. During the 2022–23 season he recorded five goals and nine assists in 46 games. During the 2023–24 season he led the Storm in scoring with 20 goals and 54 assists in 68 games. At the end of the season, Luchanko received the

William Hanley Trophy The William Hanley Trophy is awarded annually by Ontario Hockey League to the most sportsmanlike player. It is named for Bill Hanley, a former secretary-manager of the Ontario Hockey Association who served in that capacity for twenty-five years. T ...

as the OHL's most sportsmanlike player. The

selected Luchanko 13th overall in the

. The pick was announced by legendary ring announcer and Philadelphia native,

Michael Buffer Michael Buffer (born November 2, 1944) is an American ring announcer (or " MC") for boxing, professional wrestling, and National Football League events. Pioneering a distinct announcing style in which he rolls certain letters and adds other ...

. He signed a three-year

entry-level contract An entry-level job is a job that is normally designed or designated for recent graduates of a given discipline and typically does not require prior experience in the field or profession. These roles may require some on-site training. Many entr ...

with the organization on July 6. After impressing head coach

John Tortorella John Tortorella (born June 24, 1958) is an American professional ice hockey coach and former player. He most recently served as head coach for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Tortorella has also been the head coach of ...

and general manager

Daniel Brière Daniel Jean-Claude Brière (born October 6, 1977) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey player and current general manager of the Philadelphia Flyers. He was drafted in the first round of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft by the Arizona ...

in training camp, Luchanko was named to the Flyers' opening night roster for the

2024–25 NHL season The 2024–25 NHL season is the ongoing 108th season of operation (107th season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). The regular season started on October 4, 2024, when the Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils played the first of two ga ...

. At 18 years and 51 days old when he debuted against the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...

on October 11, Luchanko became the youngest player to appear in a game in Flyers history. On October 26, the Flyers returned Luchanko to Guelph for the remainder of the

2024–25 OHL season The 2024–25 OHL season was the 45th season of operation (44th season of play) of the Ontario Hockey League. The league played a 68-game regular season which began on September 25, 2024 and concluded on March 23, 2025. The post-season began on M ...

. He appeared in four games for the Flyers before this return. On January 17, 2025, the Storm named Luchanko

International play

Luchanko made his first international competition appearance at the

2022 World U-17 Hockey Challenge The 2022 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge was an ice hockey tournament that was held in Langley, British Columbia (district municipality), Langley and Delta, British Columbia, Delta, British Columbia, Canada from November 3 to 12, 2022. It was the ...

, playing for Team Canada Red. He had one goal and one assist in seven tournament games, capturing a silver medal with Canada Red, who lost the championship game 11–3 to the United States. Luchanko then appeared with the

Canada men's national under-18 ice hockey team The Canadian men's national under 18 ice hockey team is part of a three-stage Program of Excellence beginning with the Under-17 regional teams and ending with the National Junior Team. The primary objectives of the Under-18 program are to iden ...

at the

2024 IIHF World U18 Championships The 2024 IIHF U18 World Championship was the 25th such event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation. Teams participated at several levels of competition. These tournaments served as qualifications for the 2025 competition. Top Di ...

in Finland. He had two goals and seven points in seven games for the gold-medal team, including an assist in the championship game against

Team USA The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Luchanko, Jett 2006 births Living people Canadian ice hockey centres Guelph Storm players Ice hockey people from London, Ontario Lehigh Valley Phantoms players NHL first-round draft picks Philadelphia Flyers draft picks Philadelphia Flyers players 21st-century Canadian sportsmen