Farm Report Three Stars: Luchanko Finding a Groove

Here's a look at the 2024-25 season progress of various Flyers prospects in leagues across the hockey world. We'll start with the Three Stars of the week through the games of Nov. 11, 2024.

Jett Luchanko (C, Guelph Storm, OHL)

It is not uncommon for teenage players who start out a season in the National Hockey League before being returned to their junior team to need a few games to readapt to the lower caliber of play and lesser pace in those leagues. Luchanko was no exception, but has since started to find his groove.

On Sunday, hosting the defending OHL champion London Knights -- featuring Flyers 2023 first-round pick Oilver Bonk and team captain Denver Barkey -- Luchanko had a monster game in an 8-7 losing cause. Playmaking center Luchanko racked up four assists, including three primary helpers. Teammate Max Namestnikov tallied four goals, including two assisted by Luchanko. Additionally, Luchanko won 19 of 25 faceoffs.

Bonk compiled three assists and was +3 for London. Barkey, who has 10 assists among his 11 points through 13 games, did not get on the scoresheet in Sunday's game.

Luchanko's four-point game doubled his production since returning to Guelph from four to eight points (2g, 6a) in eight games. He scored his first two goals of the season over the previous two games against the Brantford Bulldogs and Erie Otters.

The Storm (5-10-2) will host the Niagara Ice Dogs (13-5-0) on Thursday before a Saturday home rematch with London (13-4-0) at Sleeman Center.

Samu Tuomaala (RW, Phantoms, AHL)

The 21-year-old Finn, who played in the AHL All-Star Game last year as a rookie for Ian Laperriere's Lehigh Valley Phantoms, has opened the 2024-25 campaign with 10 points (4g, 6a) through the season's first 11 games.

Tuomaala's combination of a speed and a sniper's shooting touch have stood out on several highlight reel plays for the Phantoms (5-3-3) in the early going of the young season. One of his nicest goals to date was this goal from the deep sleet in Saturday's 4-3 overtime home win against the Utica Comets.

The Phantoms have a very busy upcoming slate of games within the Atlantic Division: home on Wednesday against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (8-3-0), on the road on Friday to play the Springfield Thunderbirds (4-8-1) and then right back to Allentown to host the defending Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears (10-3-1) on Saturday.

Yegor Zagravin (G, SKA St. Petersburg, KHL)

Sometimes, it is necessary to take a deep breath and remind oneself that Yegor Zavragin is a 19-year-old goaltender playing for one the top teams in one of the world's top leagues outside of the NHL. Context is everything.

Since returning to SKA St. Petersburg from a loan to KHL weak-sister club HC Sochi (where he posted a 2.21 goals against average and .941 save percentage with little help in front of him), Zavragin has taken over as SKA's primary starting goaltender with 11 games played to date (2.53 GAA, .915 save percentage). He has two shutouts on the season.

There were some signs of potential fatigue from the heavy workload before Zavragin was rested for a game. The plan was for him to return to the starting net on Wednesday against Sibir Novosibirsk.

The answer to the question of whether Zavragin's pace of progress since the 2023 NHL Entry Draft (selected by the Flyers in the third round, 87th overall) is typical: No, not at all. Future NHL goaltenders such as Igor Shestkerkin, Sergei Bobrovsky, Andrei Vasilevskiy, and Ilya Sorokin had similar starts to their pro careers in the KHL before coming to North America. That's about it in terms of precedents.

This is not a guarantee that Zavragin is headed for eventual NHL stardom by virtue of following a similar early progression path to the aforementioned netminders. It does, however, speak to why the Flyers organization is excited about Zavragin's physical and mental makeup at such a tender age.

Quick Hits: In addition to this week's Farm System Three Stars, here are five other Flyers prospects who have had standout starts to the 2024-25 campaign.

• Cole Knuble (C, Notre Dame, NCAA): The 20-year-old sophomore is coming off a very strong second half to this freshman campaign. He has not skipped a beat this season, playing solid two-way hockey and compiling 13 points (6g, 7a) through his first 10 games.

• Carson Bjarnason (G, Brandon Wheat Kings, WHL): Drafted by the Flyers in the second round of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft (51st overall), Bjarnason enjoyed a strong Rookie Camp with the Flyers in September and got into his first NHL preseason game. Back with Brandon for his fourth major junior season, the 19-year-old is building a case to compete for Team Canada's starting job in net for the 2024-25 World Junior Championships. It hasn't been just about the stats (2.69 GAA, .925 SV%, one shutout). He's gotten physically stronger and is playing with a lot of confidence.

• Spencer Gill (D, Rimouski Oceanic, QMJHL): Gill parlayed an impressive Rookie Camp with the Flyers into an entry-level contract at the age of 18. His combination of size and exceptional mobility are what makes him stand out. Gill shows promise both as a puck mover and a defender. Since returning to his team in the Q, Gill has posted 10 assists and a traditional +13 rating in 16 games. The Flyers drafted Gill in the second round (59th overall) of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.

• Jack Berglund (C, Färjestads BK Karlstad, SHL): The Flyers project 2024 second-round (51st overall) selection to develop into a solid two-way center in the professional game in North America. Whether his future is as a middle-six or bottom-six forward will take shape in upcoming years. He's dressed in a dozen games this season for FBK's senior team in the Swedish Hockey League (three points) as well as eight for their J20 squad (seven goals, 12 points). The 18-year-old is in the running for a WJC spot for Team Sweden.

• Alexis Gendron (RW, Phantoms, AHL): The 20-year-old Phantoms winger is not a finished product in terms of his all-around game and he's been brought along gradually by the organization during his AHL stints of 2023-24 and 2024-25 to date. That said, two things that Gendron has shown in his brief time in pro hockey: he has quick feet and good hands. Last season, had five goals in 17 games for the Phantoms. Dressing in five games to date for the Phantoms in 2024-25, Gendron has scored three goals and chipped in an assist.

In the next edition of the Prospect Pipeline podcast, hosts Brian Smith and Bill Meltzer will spotlight Alex Bump, Heikki Ruohonen, Carter Sotheran, J.R. Avon, Ilya Pautov and Alex Ciernik among others.