There are always a few players who impress in training camp to make a push for the opening night roster. For the Philadelphia Flyers, one player has done that in each of the last two years, and he’s looking to make it three years in a row.

Of course, we’re talking about Jett Luchanko.

The Flyers infamously traded down to select Luchanko with the 13th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. He came into that year’s training camp on the outside looking in, but due to his speed and the Flyers’ lack of options down the middle, John Tortorella penciled Luchanko into the opening night roster. Luchanko ended up playing four games with the Flyers before returning to the OHL, although Tortorella may have wanted him to stick around for longer.

Luchanko did the same thing last year, earning a spot on the roster under first-year head coach Rick Tocchet. He once again played just four games, putting up no points with two penalty minutes and a minus-3 rating.

The forward struggled a bit in the OHL, putting up 17 points (15 assists) in 11 games while captaining the Guelph Storm before being traded to the Brantford Bulldogs, where he recorded 33 points in 42 games in the regular season and playoffs combined.

Now, the Flyers have the option to send Luchanko to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the AHL to start the season, and they could call him up whenever they want rather than needing to keep him on the roster as they did the last two years.

But could Luchanko impress Tocchet enough to make the opening night roster yet again?

Luchanko is impressing at Flyers training camp

While a full year in the AHL may be best for Luchanko’s development, he’s already shown he can keep up at the NHL level, and even played in the Flyers’ final playoff game despite battling a core muscle injury.

Luchanko is getting an opportunity between Travis Konecny and Porter Martone early on in training camp. Now, we shouldn’t read too much into these combinations as the Flyers have all of their possible center options playing down the middle, but that trio theoretically could work in the NHL, whether it’s out of the gate or sometime in the futrue.

The now 20-year-old center had a particularly impressive shift as captured by NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jordan Hall on Thursday.

Fantastic work this whole sequence by Jett Luchanko, who finishes with nice move. But the battle and position was just as impressive. pic.twitter.com/MaNGOi5Iho

— Jordan Hall (@JHallNBCS) September 17, 2026

As Hall notes, it’s an impressive finish by Luchanko, but the work ethic and battle leading up to the goal likely caught the coaching staff’s eyes.

Hall then asked about that play in Tocchet’s press conference later that day.

“For me, it’s just the growth of him. I think if he’s stacking some good days together, that’s what he’s got to do. Whether he makes the team or not, that’s long-term, like who knows,” Tocchet said. “He’s putting good days together.”

One of the knocks on Luchanko’s game in recent years has been his offensive upside, particularly when it comes to shooting the puck. He has four shots on goal in his eight NHL games, including just one lat season.

Tocchet is noticing a different Luchanko this year, though.

“Just from last year to this year, we did a lot of rush drills today, and he shot the puck. He went in with his speed, gained the middle,” Tocchet said. “Before, he would defer, give it to the winger. You’re going from a grade A shot from a grade B when you pass it, and he was shooting it, so that was a good sign.

“In that bull in the ring drill we do, the two on two, he took it to the net and had a hell of a goal, top-shelf, I think. Those are the things that I want him to do. I want him to be a high-wire act, go for it. Don’t be so cautious. That goal, he wasn’t cautious. That was a hell of a goal.”

Luchanko’s path to a roster spot is still a bit narrow, though.

The Flyers still lack a true top-line center, but their depth down the middle is now a strength. It’s easy to pencil in Trevor Zegras, Christian Dvorak, Noah Cates, and Sean Couturier as the Flyers’ four centers to start the season. But then you have guys like Denver Barkey and Noel Acciari who can move over to the middle, and Luchanko is in that group as well.

Having said that, Luchanko didn’t exactly have an easy path to a roster spot in recent years, either.

We’ll see how Luchanko performs as training camp continues, and he’ll likely get a look or two in the shortened preseason games as well. But don’t count Jett out just yet.