Jett Luchanko 2024 NHL Draft Profile

It’s that time of the year for The Win Column’s NHL Draft Rankings and Draft Profiles! The 2024 NHL Draft will take place on June 28 and 29 at The Sphere in Las Vegas.

Next up for us is Jett Luchanko. Luchanko is a Center for the OHL’s Guelph Storm and projects anywhere from 18th-44th overall. He is likely a late first, or early second round pick.

Who is Jett Luchanko?

Player	Pos:	Handness:	Height:	Weight:	AVG TOI:
Jett Luchanko	Centre	Right	5’11″	183 lbs	19:56

Jett Luchanko’s On-Ice Production

Year	Draft Relative	League	Team	GP	G	A	P
2022-23	D-1	OHL	Guelph Storm	46	5	9	14
		WHC-17	Canada Red U17	7	1	1	2
2023-24	D+0	OHL	Guelph Storm	68	20	54	74
		WJC-18	Canada U18	7	2	5	7

Playing on the retooling Storm, Luchanko was able to reinvent himself as more than a depth energy player, finding a new home as the 1C for the Guelph based club.

First emerging on OHL radars in the 2021-2022 season with the U16 London Jr. Knights, Luchanko’s play led to him being selected 12th overall in the 2022 OHL draft by the Guelph Storm. In his first full season in 2022-2023, he played largely a depth role establishing himself as an energy player in Guelphs bottom-six. Of note, the London product has also represented Canada on two occasions with the U17’s and U18s. Most notably though, after the departure of Matthew Poitras to the Boston Bruins at the start of this past season the Guelph Storm started to experiment. Through this experimentation Luchanko was able to carve himself a role as one of the OHL’s premier two-way forwards. Luchanko’s 74 points in 68 games really helped him garner the radar of NHL scouts.

Luchanko’s Strengths

Compete Level

The competitive edge that Luchanko brings to the table that includes quality hustle, compete and a high end motor both in transitional play and zone-play. This motor mixed in with that allows him to be constantly scanning and assessing where exactly he needs to be on the ice.

Good awareness gives Luchanko quality spacial awareness for offensive and defensive passing lanes, allowing him to know where to exert forecheck and backcheck pressure in an effective manner. In addition his compete level is also demonstrated through his ability to get quality inside leverage on defenders and opposing forwards providing decent play support

The compete level of a player like Luchanko is best exemplified by the position he takes on the ice, and as a constant net front threat he proves to be a battler.

Senses

Luchanko’s awareness is stellar, and he often attempts to make high hockey IQ plays like bank passes and seam passes. He makes these passes because the Guelph forward can identify passing lanes/play options quite well in transition. He is a threat on the forecheck, and defensively responsible, often employing stick lifts, checks, and closing off opponent options in board play.

The Ontario product proves to be a capable facilitator in zone as well through his high top right point shot positioning on the power-play. He is able to dish out passes and generate substantial chances for.

The aggressiveness Luchanko shows also furthers the offensive and defensive aptitude of his game. It adds layers of unpredictability too, when the 6’2 centre rarely shies away from some of the more physical elements, meaning he is just as likely to dump and chase as he is to cycle, or attack the net head on.

Skating Fundamentals

The foundational elements of Luchanko’s skating revolve around his acceleration, agility, and stride. As a capable skater, Luchanko has no struggles turning on the jets or horizontal movement across the ice. These factors allow him to be a very capable forechecker. Furthermore as already articulated he plays a smart game through capable changes of pace upon zone entries, and high end cross overs that allow him to generate some speed.

This power generation is something that can be further built on with more muscle mass and balance which would make him harder to push off the puck and further weaponize his nose for the net.

One of the most evident factors of Luchanko’s skating is his posture and ability to glide where he needs to be in both an effective and efficient manner that allows him to have that high end motor for longer.

Luchanko’s Areas of Improvement

Transitional Play

As a true playmaking element to Guelph’s attack, further refinement of both Luchanko’s top end speed and puck handling could add significant layers to his game. As previously highlighted the Canadian does have quality vision, but add a bit of urgency and you might get a bit of a different result as he is quite often knocked off stride, boxed out at the blue line, or rushed into unfavourable decision making.

Especially around puck handling he displays a trend to get knocked off pucks easily, particularly in transition if opposing players exert any sort of defensive pressure. This could also show under-developed offensive poise as well. This puck protection in transitional play can be a make or break for his adaption to pro-hockey.

Shot

All around Luchanko needs to improve timing, shot selection, and release. The wrist shot the 6’2 centre has shows flashes of aptitude. Notably the Guelph centerman struggles outside of the immediate slot and this can point to a lack of execution and consistency, and this shot selection and chance diversification is required if he looks to make an impact at the NHL level.

Now this is where Luchanko’s lean to be a playmaker over a shooter does directly help his potential.

Potential

Luchanko likely projects as a high-end top-nine player at the NHL level, just due to the limitations around transitional play. Ultimately, if he can find ways to unlock more consistency, high end speed, and muscle (all very doable), he would slot into a middle six role.

Luchanko’s Comparables

An NHL comparable would be that of Andrew Copp, for his solid two-way game, high compete level, and some offensive upside.

Fit With the Flames

Luchanko could be a top-six player and a new replacement/possible future upgrade for someone like current flame, Andrew Mangiapane.

Risk 3.5/5

As outlined the lack of top speed, consistency, and shooting skill pose as significant but not unsurmountable barriers for the young centre.

Reward 3.5/5

Luchanko could be a serious two-way threat, and offensive threat for an NHL club of the future.

Check out all of The Win Column’s individual player profiles of selected 2024 NHL Draft prospects:

Tyler RohlederMay 23, 2024

4 minutes read