When Noah Cates made his debut for the Philadelphia Flyers as a 22-year-old in 2022, there wasn’t much fanfare surrounding the 2017 fifth-round pick.
The best-case scenario at the time was for him to become another version of Scott Laughton; a gritty, defensively responsible forward who could play 4th line minutes in his own zone, and not get caved in while doing so. Laughton, it must be said, had much higher pedigree coming out of the OHL as a first-round pick, he was always going to get a chance to thrive in the NHL lineup, Cates was never guaranteed such an opportunity.
Cates has become a sound, all-around player, not through any amount of innate talent or elite puck skills, but rather an advanced hockey mind and dogged work in all three zones.
And as of recently, Cates has been centering the Flyers’ best performing line of late, flanked by Bobby Brink and Tyson Foerster. Over his last 11 contests, Cates has amassed 10 points along with five goals, all at even strength, and while his season totals aren’t gaudy, his 17 points in 37 games is significant production considering he started the season receiving healthy scratches.
And while we are on the subject of ice time, it is clear that John Tortorella has noticed Cates’s step up in play. Throughout his first 21 games, Cates had an average time on ice of 12:47, over his last 16 games, he has averaged 15:15, with most of those being high pressure minutes against elite competition. He has also been entrusted with overtime and power play minutes, something that was borderline unthinkable when the season started.
But he has earned every bit of praise, there is no angle from which you can look at Noah Cates’s game and not conclude that he has been one of the more underrated defensive forwards in the NHL.
For the uninitiated, the bottom graphic being blue means that when Cates is on the ice, the Flyers prevent shots at a much higher rate. And conversely, the top graphic indicates, including that red hot spot directly in front of the net, that the Flyers largely generate more shots when Cates is on the ice, as well.
Positive patterns of play follow Cates all over the ice, and while this may be due to having some favourable matchups to start the season, it’s certainly not the case now.
Cates was part of the trio that stared down Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and Morgan Rielly to start 3-on-3 overtime during the first half of the Flyers’ recent home and away mini-series in Toronto against the Maple Leafs, and while the Flyers didn’t win, it speaks volumes that he has elevated himself to the point where Coach Tortorella believes he is theie best, (and most-deserving) option when going for that extra point.
If Cates can keep up a semblance of the pace that he has been at since the start of December, which would translate to 61 points over a full 82-game season, then we are talking about a completely different asset than what the Flyers had to begin the season with.
NOAH CATES ON THE FORECHECK FREES IT UP FOR TRAVIS KONECNY'S SECOND GOAL!!!
— Flyers Nation (@FlyersNation) January 8, 2025
2-1 #FLYERS! pic.twitter.com/pFaldTymCV
His partnership with Foerster and Brink is currently what is holding the Flyers’ heads above water, but if he keeps up this pace, there may be an argument to elevate him to a second line, or even first line, role.
There is not exactly a wealth of centers on this roster; everyone is pretty certain that Sean Couturier is the finished article, and Morgan Frost has lacked the ability to be a consistent difference maker against quality NHL opposition. Cates has outplayed both over the last few weeks, and there’s no harm in seeing if he can rise to the occasion, and play above the franchise’s expectations of him, once again. And as a rush of young players look set to jump into the NHL mix as soon as later this year, it’s steady hands like Cates that can help make the transition as smooth as possible and show the new blood how to play a responsible two-way game at the NHL level.
