It was a bit of a rude welcome home for Jett Luchanko.
The Guelph Storm forward arrived back in the Royal CIty Saturday night after being returned to the club by the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers. He had the option of sitting out Sunday's home game against the Brampton Steelheads, but knew his new/old teammates were shorthanded and wanted in on the action.
Luchanko had an assist as the Steelheads blew out the Storm 10-1, the third loss of the weekend for the locals. In those three defeats they were outscored a combined 23-4.
"I wanted to play," Luchanko said.
"It was a good learning experience for me, that's the biggest takeaway I have from it," Luchanko, 18, said of his stint with the Flyers, where he played in four regular season games as the youngest player in the NHL.
"I was able to see what goes on there on a day-to-day basis and bring that back here to learn and help guys on our team as well."
A stint in the NHL, even one where you are a healthy scratch for some games, is a valuable one for a teenager in many ways, as Luchanko found out.
"There's a lot to learn. There's guys that have been there for a long time and there's lots to learn still, lots to learn about play in the future."
He didn't come back with a laundry list of things to work on. That's something he's already aware of.
"The biggest thing is they were pretty happy with the way I was playing and the way I was handling myself. Just a matter of coming back, develop myself and get ready for another opportunity."
Luchanko doesn't think there will be too much of a mental adjustment coming back to junior. Having your head in the right mindset is important no matter wherever you are playing, he said.
"Try my hardest every game, every practice, every shift," he said. "For me it's just day-to-day. Try your hardest no matter what."
Sunday's blowout against Brampton saw the Storm allow a season-high 10 goals, something that happened twice last season.
While 10 goals allowed is always a shocker, losing to Brampton given the current state of affairs likely wasn't.
Guelph dressed seven defencemen Sunday, five of them rookies. They included Jackson Young, a junior C call-up, and Nathan McHattie, a 2023 10th round pick who had been playing junior A with the Ayr Centennials. McHattie was signed earlier in the day.
The Steelheads are one of the more offensively-gifted clubs in the league and despite their 6-4-1-0 start to the season are considered a contender in the Eastern Conference this year.
They scored 5:48 into the first period and never looked back, leading 5-0 after one period and 9-0 after two. Adam Zidlicky led the way with three goals and two assists.
Dawson Morris, with his first in the OHL, scored Guelph's lone goal. Brayden Gillespie played the opening 11 minutes and the final 20 minutes, sandwiching a Colin Ellsworth stint in net. Both goaltenders allowed five goals.
Ellsworth and Alex McLean leave for the World Under-17 Challenge in Sarnia tomorrow. It wraps up Nov. 9 so they will miss the next four games at least.
Guelph hits the road next weekend for games in Ottawa Friday and Kingston Saturday. Next home game is Nov. 8 when the Erie Otters visit.
