The New Unending Flyers thread

[xogfog]

It's being reported these are the lines and power play units to start:

Lines:

Matvei Michkov - Sean Couturier - Travis Konecny
Owen Tippett - Morgan Frost - Tyson Foerster
Joel Farabee - Jett Luchanko - Bobby Brink
Scott Laughton - Ryan Poehling - Garnet Hathaway

Power play units:

Morgan Frost, Travis Konecny, Matvei Michkov, Owen Tippett, Jamie Drysdale

Jett Luchanko, Bobby Brink, Tyson Foerster, Joel Farabee, Egor Zamula

[Aquapong]

Interesting that Sanheim or York aren’t on the PP group. I suppose they are trying to save them for even strength and PK.

[phillychuck]

Interesting that Luchanko has a power-play role already, too. And only one defenseman on both power-play units is unusual. Sachem and York will probably sub-in in both units for a forward if they are fresh.

[Docs]

Do we think Jett will be sent down before the year counts towards service? That’s like 8-10 game range?

[Austinfan]

They've giving Luchanko a big role from the get-go

1) they really like him
2) if they keep him, it's not going to be to play 8-10 minutes a night

By giving him a full workload, it's easier to evaluate whether they should keep him or send him back to the CHL.

So it'll resolve itself, either he shows he belongs, in which case they're not worried about him being 18, or he's overwhelmed in real games and he'll be sent back.

[Docs]

i was saying 8 to 10 game range, not 8-10 minutes a night range. meaning i expect that after a few cups of coffee he will head back to the juniors with some good experience and instruction on things to work on. would be wild if they kept him the whole year and started his service clock

[bkeich]

Do we think Jett will be sent down before the year counts towards service? That’s like 8-10 game range?

Yea, it is 9 games. If he takes the ice on the 10th game he gets his NHL Salary and service time.

I had a friend in the 90s that was on the Penguins for his 9 games, was still active for the 10th game but never got in the ice and was sent down after and never made it back. We told him he should have jumped on the ice (and therefore got a penalty) to get his check. Of course hen didn’t know this was his last chance.

He went on to be one of the highest scoring defenseman in AHL / IHL history. An honor, but not one you really strived for.

[zambonir]

I think he has a legit shot of sticking and that line has a legit dynamic or they wouldn't be doing it. He'd be better off starting the year in junior if they are certain that's where he'll be and it was more honorary/for a taste.

If he can play, I don't think you worry about burning the year. It's solely about his development.

Has certainly out-performed the reaction to his pick so far.

[Docs]

There's value to having a kid around for some games before going back to Juniors, teams have done it in the past, I can't remember the last time the flyers did this but it makes sense, it gives the player an idea what they need to work on while they dominate at the junior level. I just haven't seen anything one way or the other where the team has said what they intend to do.

[zambonir]

For sure but it's usually a higher-end, more polished kid. I don't think anyone expected this.

There's been plenty of discussion.

General manager Daniel Briere said on Monday that going into training camp, he “never thought (Luchanko) had much of a chance” to make the team. But Luchanko impressed team brass with what Briere called “top-end NHL speed already.”

“I get that there’s different rules with him. Everybody’s going to bring up the nine-game thing,” Briere said. “There’s no decisions made on that one way or the other. It’s going to be on a daily basis, just like everybody else.”

There’s always a risk in rushing young players. Luchanko was one of just two 2024 first-round picks to make his team out of camp, the other being No. 1 pick Macklin Celebrini of San Jose. But both Tortorella and Briere appeared confident that should Luchanko struggle at the NHL level, or if he’s eventually reassigned to Guelph, he will be able to handle it from a mental standpoint.

Why Flyers’ Jett Luchanko is about to become the youngest player in franchise...

[Aquapong]

The last players we’ve had as young as Michkov and Luchanko were Couturier and Provorov. I think TK was pretty young too.

[Docs]

I think provorov and TK both played one more season of juniors after the draft, and then made the team the year after they were drafted, the team (hextal) announced they would have a nine day tryout and then both stayed on

[Philsmania]

For years the Flyers have allowed Disney On Ice or some such program to book either the WF Center or, in the past, the Spectrum for the last week or so of the year.

Yes, that is it. It may also be the reason the Sixers want to cut ties with them. Every December. both teams have to go on a long Mickey Mouse West Coast road trip to accommodate Disney.

[Austinfan]

It's normal for top prospects to make the NHL in their D+2 season, Farabee did as well.
D-men might take a little longer. Provorov was the exception.

But to make the NHL the season after you're drafted (D+1) is pretty rare.

I still expect Luchanko to be sent down, but it looks like they're going to give him every chance to succeed.
He's a fast riser, 14 points in his D-1 season to 70 in his D-0. If he went back, he's a good bet for 100+.

[Docs]

hard for me to remember which teams I'm rooting against this year (colorado & edmonton) for the flyers to get a better first rounder. Colorado is top ten protected (so let's go 11th pick) and edmonton is top 12 protected (let's go 13 pick). I was looking at the scoreboards and rooting against florida out of habit.

[Florida_Sunshine]

Those are two top teams. Hard to believe there will be much of a falloff. Still, we will have the ability to package and move up or try for three nice pieces.

[Austinfan]

We also have Anaheim and CBJ's 2nd rd picks.
Both may end up in the 30s.

[bkeich]

The NHL really needs to work on basic scheduling. When the Flyers take the ice tonight there will be teams that have already completed 3 games.

The NHL Schedule always seems to be a problem, whether it be long road trips or going back and forth across country, I have no idea why other sports can work this out and they always seem to have weird flukes in their schedule.

[Docs]

Isn’t that because some teams started their season overseas?

[Squire]

That was a pretty PPG for the Flyers