With the Buffalo Sabres and the New Jersey Devils kicking off the 2024-25 regular season in Czechia, the rest of the NHL was busy making more cuts to their training camp roster and the Philadelphia Flyers joined the fray by cutting 14 players while keeping Jett Luchanko with the main group.
The first round pick from this past June’s NHL Entry Draft has done nothing but shock and surprise the Flyers top brass – as well as most of the fanbase – whether it was through the Rookie Series, Rookie Camp, or Training Camp. The signs were evident but it became more and more clear when he was seen practicing with the main group near the end of camp.
So, while Luchanko remained with the Flyers, the following players were either placed on waivers, returned to the AHL, reassigned to the AHL, or assigned back to their junior club:
Rodrigo Abols, Oscar Eklind, Samu Tuomaala, Emil Andrae, Adam Ginning, Helge Grans, Hunter McDonald, Alexei Kolosov, and Cal Petersen were assigned to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Cooper Marody was returned to the Phantoms – as he was on an AHL contract – and Olle Lycksell and Anthony Richard were placed on waivers for the purpose of being loaned to the Phantoms. Finally, Denver Barkey and Oliver Bonk were assigned back to the London Knights of the OHL.
As for the NHL roster that will kick things off next Friday in Vancouver, things are starting to take shape and it looks like a vibrant group with a lot of youth mixed in with veterans. According to Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia, Matvei Michkov is set to start on the left wing with Sean Couturier and Travis Konecny while Luchanko takes the third line centre role with Joel Farabee and Bobby Brink on his wings.
Noah Cates is the surprise omission considering how highly he’s been rated by the front office and coaching staff over the last few seasons. He will also be entering a contract season, but it all depends on the health of the club moving forward and whether or not Luchanko makes it past the 9-game tryout basis.
Of course, Luchanko’s addition to the lineup has already brought about a lot of questions about whether or not it will hinder or boost his development, whether or not the Flyers are doing what’s in their best interest since they’re rebuilding, and whether or not Luchanko actually deserves the spot right now. If he goes beyond the 9-game tryout, the Flyers will burn the first year of his entry-level contract.
All these questions will quickly be resolved once the puck drops next Friday night in Vancouver. However for the time being, it’s a very good sign that the Flyers’ first round selection that got scrutinized to no end has impressed so much so that he could be the first Flyers prospect to make his NHL debut straight out of his draft year since Nolan Patrick in 2017.
