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Philadelphia Flyers send NHL’s youngest player to junior team
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Philadelphia Flyers send NHL’s youngest player to junior team

The Philadelphia Flyers are making some roster changes at the start of the season after a difficult start. The team is off to a 1-5-1 start through seven games, which places them in last place in the Metropolitan Division.

The latest move announced by the Flyers sees the team bringing back the youngest player in the NHL to its junior hockey team. The organization announced its 2024 first-round pick Jett Luchankowho made headlines when he left the training camp roster, has been sent back to the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).

The move comes after Luchanko made his official NHL debut in the Flyers’ season opener against the Vancouver Canucks. He played in four of the team’s first seven games, skating an average of 14 minutes per night. He failed to record any points in any of these games, but was quite productive during the preseason.

The good news for the Flyers is that this move preserves Luchanko’s entry-level contract. Because he has played less than nine games, that does not constitute a season on his entry-level contract, meaning he will still have three more seasons under this current contract.

The good news for Luchanko is that he will now be able to play huge minutes in the OHL for the Storm. That’s what earned him a first-round draft selection last summer, and a few more adjustments will hopefully lead to him remaining in Philadelphia full-time in 2025 and beyond.

Last season he was the Storm’s best player. He played in 68 games, scoring 20 goals, adding 54 assists and finishing with 74 points. He also collected seven points in seven appearances at the World Junior Championships for Team Canada.

THE Leaflets will now look to gain ground in their division without their top prospect. After stumbling, they will need a strong team effort to pick up wins and move up the rankings. They have yet another star rookie, Matvei Michkov, in the lineup and scoring at a high rate and a group of promising players still in their lineup.