Come opening night for the Philadelphia Flyers, Matvei Michkov might not be the only rookie on the roster.
Forward Jett Luchanko remains with the Flyers after the team reduced its training camp roster by 14 players on Friday. Final rosters must be submitted by Monday.
Philadelphia played its final pre-season game Thursday night against the New Jersey Devils and are set to open the regular season on the road against the Vancouver Canucks on Oct. 11.
Luchanko, 18, was the 13th overall pick by the Flyers at this summer’s draft. If he debuts on opening night, he will be the youngest player in franchise history to do so, having just celebrated his birthday back on Aug. 21.
From London, Ont., Luchanko spent two seasons with the OHL’s Guelph Storm. In 68 games last season, he recorded 20 goals and 54 assists for 74 points.
In four pre-season games with the Flyers, Luchanko collected two assists and managed just two shots on goal.
But, having impressed his coaches and management over the course of training camp, the Flyers are likely to keep Luchanko around to start the season and have him play a handful of games before sending him back to juniors. Being under 20, Luchanko can play up to nine games with the team before burning the first year off his entry-level contract.
Luchanko signed his three-year, $2.93 million contract, that carries a cap hit of $975,000, in July.
“Still a little worried as we talk about (Luchanko) and how much we give him, you know, what happens when the real stuff happens,” head coach John Tortorella told reporters Friday. “We’ve got to find all this out as we start our season.”