PHILADELPHIA — It was about a week ago that Philadelphia Flyers prospect Jett Luchanko relocated from a cramped, non-luxurious hotel room near the team’s training facility in southern New Jersey to teammate Erik Johnson’s house nearby.
Johnson and his wife made it a point to “get (Luchanko) some home-cooked meals,” the defenseman said on Friday.
Johnson also noticed, according to coach John Tortorella, that the player only had about 10 days worth of clothes with him in tow. Apparently, Luchanko figured that his time with the Flyers after he surprisingly made the opening night roster out of training camp was likely to be only temporary.
The Flyers reassigned the promising young center back to his junior team, the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League, general manager Daniel Brière announced Saturday. Still, Luchenko seemingly left a great impression on everyone despite just two weeks as an official NHL player.
“He should be proud of himself,” Tortorella said after the Flyers’ 7-5 win over the Wild at Wells Fargo Center. “He should feel so good about what’s happened as far as the time he spent with us.”
Said captain Sean Couturier: “The way he handled himself and conducted himself as a pro, definitely impressive for his age. I’m sure he learned a lot…
