VOORHEES, N.J. -- Jett Luchanko was selected by the Philadelphia Flyers with the No. 13 pick of the 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft because of his skating and playmaking abilities.
But to become an NHL player, the forward prospect understands a change in mindset is required. He must develop more of a shoot-first mentality.
Luchanko led Guelph of the Ontario Hockey League with 74 points (20 goals, 54 assists) despite having 125 shots on goal in 68 games.
"It's definitely something that I want to work on and try and get better at over this summer and next year, and years to come," Luchanko said during Flyers development camp, which was held July 2-6. "For me it's just trying to work on the total package. But that's definitely something I'm putting more effort into."
Flyers director of player development Riley Armstrong said he and his staff already have spoken to Luchanko about rounding out his offensive approach and how important it is to give the opposition more to think about than a quick pass to an open teammate.
"You always want to be a dual threat," Armstrong said. "I think when you come down the rink and you're always looking to pass, teams, especially in pro, they'll start to figure out pretty quick when they're doing video that he's always going to look to pass.
“Goalies are smarter; they're looking where the shot option’s coming from. But as soon as he starts to work on his shot and he brings that into his game, he's going to probably start to beat a lot of goalies short side that are probably cheating for that pass."