Prospect Info: Round 1, Pick 13: Jett Luchanko, C, Guelph (OHL)

[BillDineen]

Supposedly Buium and Cutter have the same agent...

 

[FromOyVey2Matvei]

Like the player. Don’t like the value at 13. I think you could have dropped another 5-6 spots and still gotten Jett if he was their guy. A few teams paid pretty hefty prices to move up that amount of spots. We’ll see. He could explode next year for 130 points and we’ll forget about this. However, the value doesn’t look good right now.

One of the athletic guys (think it was Wheeler) said there were multiple other teams in the teens ready to pick him if we didn't. That doesn't mean the value is good, or that we used a great process, but I think it was either draft Jett at 13 or lose out on him if we moved down further.

My issue is more with the process and what Briere and Flahr have said. Nobody came out and said "this kid was the top prospect on our board, we had a top 10 grade on him, he was our guy from the start", etc. The quotes are "we had a hole at centre" "Buium is small & we already have a lot of small defensemen", etc. That's poor process.

I still wouldn't have been a huge fan of the pick & would've said "reach", but at least if they tell me they were in love with this kid from the start, I can have some confidence they prepared well, they followed their draft board, etc.

This just honestly seems more like the board didn't fall the way they hoped, they were shellshocked, made a panic trade for a 3rd and then forced a pick for a centre.

 

[BritainStix]

One of the athletic guys (think it was Wheeler) said there were multiple other teams in the teens ready to pick him if we didn't. That doesn't mean the value is good, or that we used a great process, but I think it was either draft Jett at 13 or lose out on him if we moved down further.

My issue is more with the process and what Briere and Flahr have said. Nobody came out and said "this kid was the top prospect on our board, we had a top 10 grade on him, he was our guy from the start", etc. The quotes are "we had a hole at centre" "Buium is small & we already have a lot of small defensemen", etc. That's poor process.

I still wouldn't have been a huge fan of the pick & would've said "reach", but at least if they tell me they were in love with this kid from the start, I can have some confidence they prepared well, they followed their draft board, etc.

This just honestly seems more like the board didn't fall the way they hoped, they were shellshocked, made a panic trade for a 3rd and then forced a pick for a centre.

Briere also said that he has no idea what was going on with Michov and Fedotov. The dude says whatever he wants to the media.

 

[FromOyVey2Matvei]

Briere also said that he has no idea what was going on with Michov and Fedotov. The dude says whatever he wants to the media.

He doesn't "say whatever he wants"... what you're talking about is evidence that Briere understands how to use the media. He feigns ignorance on the Russian players because he doesn't want to disrespect SKA or offend the wrong Russian oligarch and have our players held back. He slow plays things until they're over here. That's smart/savvy.

Which makes it even more troubling that someone who understands the importance of what he says/doesn't say to the media comes out confidently talking about our need at center and how many small defensemen we already have after a disaster of a first round.

 

[Evergreen]

This kid's uncle is my eye doctor.

Also, Briere mentioned a handful of other teams came up to him after the pick and told him they were targeting Jett. He was 19th on Bob McKenzie's board and was predicted to go 14th on former NHL scout Jason Bukala's board. So it doesn't seem like the pick was too big a reach. I understand fans will be upset about passing on Buium, but I think it's way too early to be calling for Briere's head.

 

[mr figgles]

This kid's uncle is my eye doctor.

Also, Briere mentioned a handful of other teams came up to him after the pick and told him they were targeting Jett. He was 19th on Bob McKenzie's board and was predicted to go 14th on former NHL scout Jason Bukala's board. So it doesn't seem like the pick was too big a reach. I understand fans will be upset about passing on Buium, but I think it's way too early to be calling for Briere's head.

Bukala also had Buium at 4, so I don’t think he would be down with this pick.

 

[Evergreen]

Bukala also had Buium at 4, so I don’t think he would be down with this pick.

On the other side of the coin, Columbus, Montreal, Utah, Ottawa, Seattle, Calgary, NJ and San Jose all felt Buium wasn't the right choice at 4-11. The truth is we have no idea how these kids will turn out. Let's try to be positive.

 

[mr figgles]

On the other side of the coin, Columbus, Montreal, Utah, Ottawa, Seattle, Calgary, NJ and San Jose all felt Buium wasn't the right choice at 4-11. The truth is we have no idea how these kids will turn out. Let's try to be positive.

We don’t know how they will turn out, but we can project, and everyone projects Buium to be significantly better. For a team devoid of high end talent, this is just another hugely blown opportunity. The player is fine. The pick is shit.

 

[orangecrush8]

Supposedly Buium and Cutter have the same agent...

No need to let this detail get in the way of the mob mentality this thread has become.

 

[BackToTheBrierePatch]

I an curious why Buium fell after being a projected top 3 pick.

 

[Jettany]

He probably means safe as in he’ll be in the NHL in some capacity, even if it’s as a career bottom 6.



I feel like it’s pretty obvious that Luchanko was their consolation prize, when Grier jumped them for Dickinson.

And didn’t want to pay Columbus’ bounty for Demidov.

One of the athletic guys (think it was Wheeler) said there were multiple other teams in the teens ready to pick him if we didn't. That doesn't mean the value is good, or that we used a great process, but I think it was either draft Jett at 13 or lose out on him if we moved down further.

My issue is more with the process and what Briere and Flahr have said. Nobody came out and said "this kid was the top prospect on our board, we had a top 10 grade on him, he was our guy from the start", etc. The quotes are "we had a hole at centre" "Buium is small & we already have a lot of small defensemen", etc. That's poor process.

I still wouldn't have been a huge fan of the pick & would've said "reach", but at least if they tell me they were in love with this kid from the start, I can have some confidence they prepared well, they followed their draft board, etc.

This just honestly seems more like the board didn't fall the way they hoped, they were shellshocked, made a panic trade for a 3rd and then forced a pick for a centre.

I’ve read the opposite. They absolutely fell in love with this kid.

 

[WIP CALLER]

Sweet another 3rd line center, just what we need.

 

[GapToothedWonder]

Yes specifically on the PP. But I also don’t think they have had that level of passer in a long time outside of G.

Jett being so young but still having such high numbers at the combine is interesting

Jett ending up anywhere close to G as a passer is like a 99.9% outcome for him

The Flyers might go decades without seeing another passer at G's level.

Especially since they coach that out of players.

 

[TheKingPin]

Jett ending up anywhere close to G as a passer is like a 99.9% outcome for him

The Flyers might go decades without seeing another passer at G's level.

Especially since they coach that out of players.

Yea obviously not calling him G. If I were to see a play style like any other it may be G though. Not only does he see passes that are not obvious at all, it’s tape to tape. He doesn’t celebrate much either which I like.

 

[GapToothedWonder]

Luchanko has a few stand out skills though. His skating is elite. There's no doubt about that. His lateral movement, his edging, his starting and stopping and getting into high gear is elite. His passing skills are also elite. I'd also say his situational awareness is elite too. He knows when to press on offense and when to get back on defense. I love some of the comparisons I've read for Luchanko. Elias Lindholm, Sebastian Aho and Nico Hischier were just done of the names I've seen. I'm not saying here's going to be as good as them, but that's some good comparisons in terms of the style of game he plays.

Once again, maybe it's just me being overly optimistic, but I think carrying that mediocre Guelph team, his performance at the under 18 (where coaches raved about him) and his testing at the combine, maybe there's a lot more there than meets the eye.

I'm more or less wondering what they're going to do with those six top 60 draft choices next year because you know that they'll either package done of those picks with a player that they want to lose or they're going to make a deal for a top six center (Zegras?).

Elite awareness, elite passing, elite short area skating and elite top end speed but couldn't even get into the top 10 with 4 ELITE skills. Tough out there.

 

[GapToothedWonder]

This kid's uncle is my eye doctor.

Also, Briere mentioned a handful of other teams came up to him after the pick and told him they were targeting Jett. He was 19th on Bob McKenzie's board and was predicted to go 14th on former NHL scout Jason Bukala's board. So it doesn't seem like the pick was too big a reach. I understand fans will be upset about passing on Buium, but I think it's way too early to be calling for Briere's head.

Yeah, the guy getting dumped on for reaching on a player is assuring us that other teams would have also reached? Pretty wild stuff, no way it could be self serving.

No need to let this detail get in the way of the mob mentality this thread has become.

So following that thread, does that mean they were worried Zeev wouldn't sign with them? Is it a good sign that they don't feel they can draft top end college kids because those kids don't want to play for the Flyers? Does that reflect well on the franchise?

 

[Evergreen]

Yeah, the guy getting dumped on for reaching on a player is assuring us that other teams would have also reached? Pretty wild stuff, no way it could be self serving.

Okay sorry, instead I’ll listen to all the genius hockey minds on this site who like to shit on every move mgmt makes because it makes them feel superior and have never seen Luchanko play.

 

[GapToothedWonder]

Okay sorry, instead I’ll listen to all the genius hockey minds on this site who like to shit on every move mgmt makes because it makes them feel superior and have never seen Luchanko play.

At least they will be more impartial then the guy who's job is literally dependent on the outcome of this pick defending the pick.

 

[Evergreen]

Briere’s job doesn’t depend on what he *says* about the pick. He’ll be judged on whether the pick actually works out. So he made the pick he thinks will be the best for the team (and by extension, for himself). If he thought Buium or someone else was the better choice, he’d have taken it. He isn’t blowing smoke up people’s asses to cover his decisionmaking because. Rather, he is confident in his choice. Whether or not his judgment was good remains to be seen.

 

[Gregor Samsa]

No one had Buium going as late as he did. For a player thought to be going anywhere from 3-8, the drop is a little eyebrow raising. Maybe he was open about wanting to stay in the Midwest/west coast. If the Flyers were picking 13 from the start, I don’t think the Luchanko pick would be as unpopular as it is. If he wasn’t the pick he was probably going in the mid teens. I have to wonder if Dickinson was their target all along and the sharks knew that to jump the Flyers before the draft even started

 

[Juicy Pop]

Briere’s job doesn’t depend on what he *says* about the pick. He’ll be judged on whether the pick actually works out. So he made the pick he thinks will be the best for the team (and by extension, for himself). If he thought Buium or someone else was the better choice, he’d have taken it. He isn’t blowing smoke up people’s asses to cover his decisionmaking because. Rather, he is confident in his choice. Whether or not his judgment was good remains to be seen.

Bingo.

Rumors got everyone really hyped up and, despite it all falling through, we still had the shot at a consensus top-5 player and didn't pick him.

I get it, but there's nothing really to be mad about until teams start scratching off their lottery tickets.

 

[trostol]

if they didn't take Buium all because of his agent..that's some weak shit..even if it turns out to be the same situation as Cutter, you take the pick and if he wont sign you reap the rewards later..especially if you are "rebuilding"(never happened)

 

[GKJ]

 

[thedjpd]

No one had Buium going as late as he did. For a player thought to be going anywhere from 3-8, the drop is a little eyebrow raising. Maybe he was open about wanting to stay in the Midwest/west coast. If the Flyers were picking 13 from the start, I don’t think the Luchanko pick would be as unpopular as it is. If he wasn’t the pick he was probably going in the mid teens. I have to wonder if Dickinson was their target all along and the sharks knew that to jump the Flyers before the draft even started

1) I think they wanted Catton, Lindstrom, Demidov or Dickinson. They were hoping 1 out of the 4 would be there at 12 IMO. It’s not entirely unreasonable of an expectation but these are certainly hard to predict.

2) Once SJ jumped, that’s when Briere aggressively tried to get into the top 10. He also said too 4 or 5 was never really in play, so those expecting Demidov can stop dreaming - assuming you believe him.

3) The same people for clamoring believing the sources that Jett was a reach are the same who are dismissing the same for Buium falling. We only know on the outside - it is possible there were other circumstances beyond just the player (location, team) that made them avoid him. We know this is real especially with the lies told on draft day from Cutter. I don’t think it’s fair to label this a universal “prospects don’t want to play for us.” Briere, as said, won’t be judged on the pick now, but if Jett develops and becomes a 1C does anybody care? His job is to get this right - if he doesn’t, then he’ll get canned.

4) Elite skills don’t always translate to elite production right away. What’s strange is I started watching some clips of Jett - the dude can play. He has 2-3 high end skills (skating, passing, IQ). Maybe there’s more there - it’s not my job to be right on this, but I can see a bit of (hopefully) what they see.

5) At the time, everybody blasted Fletcher for the CG pick with “omgzzz typical Flyer reach for size and dumb IQ.” As much as I hate him, Cutter has lived up to it - that was Flahr also.

6) Trading a haul for Lindstrom would be a Flyerzzz move because he’s big - but there are definitely questions around his game too.

I dunno, just don’t feel the doom. I’m bummed - yes, but I do think he’s talented enough to play with MM.

 

[Larry44]

Yeah, the guy getting dumped on for reaching on a player is assuring us that other teams would have also reached? Pretty wild stuff, no way it could be self serving.


So following that thread, does that mean they were worried Zeev wouldn't sign with them? Is it a good sign that they don't feel they can draft top end college kids because those kids don't want to play for the Flyers? Does that reflect well on the franchise?

Uh, guessing not? LOL.