The Philadelphia Flyers may not have the center prospect they thought they did in Jett Luchanko, but that isn't a bad thing.

Since Day 1, Luchanko's skillset and developmental trajectory have been superimposed with those of Zeev Buium, the uber-talented but slight defenseman who was dealt by Minnesota to Vancouver in the Quinn Hughes trade.

The Flyers, of course, could have had Buium, but opted to trade down one spot, acquire a third-round pick, and select Luchanko instead.

Just under two years later, though, the 19-year-old Luchanko has not quite yet made the strides indicative of a future top-six center at the NHL level. There is, however, hope that he could contribute to the top of the lineup in other ways.

After joining the Brantford Bulldogs via trade, Luchanko wasn't exactly blowing the doors off and was quickly buried on the depth chart behind Seattle Kraken prospect Jake O'Brien, the 2025 No. 9 overall pick, and Caleb Malhotra, a top 2026 draft prospect.

But, in the last four games, Luchanko had moved from third line center to first line right wing, flanking O'Brien and 2024 draft classmate Marek Vanacker.

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The results? 

The 5-foot-11 speedster has recorded two goals, six assists, and eight points, racked up a +6 rating, and added 14 shots on goal.

On the season, Luchanko now has 38 points in 33 games, and that eight-point outburst at right wing accounts for 21% of his offensive production this year.

Instead of burying a talented player and pigeonholing him into a bottom-six role, Bulldogs head coach Jay McKee, a former teammate of Flyers GM Danny Briere's and a finalist for the head coaching position that went to Rick Tocchet, took a risk and got rewarded.

McKee, Luchanko, and the Bulldogs snapped a two-game losing streak following the position change, and are now winners of four straight on the strength of 17 goals scored across that span.

As it relates to the Flyers, does moving Luchanko to right wing help the rebuild along? No, not really, but it has its merits.

Jett Luchanko Makes the Flyers Roster; Is it the Right Call?As he did last year, top center prospect Jett Luchanko has made the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers">Philadelphia Flyers</a> ahead of opening night, but it's still uncertain as to whether he's truly ready for NHL action.

The hallmarks of the 2024 No. 13 overall pick's game are his speed, playmaking, and attention to detail.

It's undoubtedly an asset, too, that Luchanko can play center and win faceoffs doing it; he's 28/58 in his fledgling NHL career (48.3%) and was 11/21 in four games under Tocchet and the Flyers this season (52.4%).

If Luchanko's best offensive hockey comes from playing on the wing, the Flyers ought to roll with it.

We know now that Christian Dvorak has played that hybrid center/wing role paired with Trevor Zegras, but in the future, a hypothetical version of Luchanko could add tons of surplus value in Dvorak's place with his vision and passing and legs in transition.

Dvorak is a solid player, to be clear, and the Flyers need centers, but this is a "puzzle," as Tocchet would call it, and Dvorak lacks the plus traits Luchanko possesses.

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Unless Zegras ends up staying at center and sticks, the Flyers cannot say they have any of their center positions sorted for the future, as it's all in flux.

Another way to put it: Zegras plus Luchanko equals one whole center, and maybe a first-line caliber one at that. The talent is there, but the end product is king in the NHL.

The Flyers have three first-round picks in the next two drafts to find at least one more center to complement Luchanko, Zegras, and perhaps Jack Nesbitt and Jack Berglund, as well as a No. 1 defenseman.

Briere and Co. have their work cut out for them still, especially after this latest development with Luchanko, but it's best to make lemonade with the lemons they've been given.