Photo Credit: The Philadelphia Inquirer
Noah Cates skated onto the ice for the first time during his solo lap, smiling, as fans from UMD and alike were cheering him on. It finally hit him that he indeed was making his NHL Debut.
Cates put forth one heck of an NHL Debut. He skated well, was confident, and poised. Cates created many turnovers in the neutral zone by suffocating his opponents, and sealing their gaps. This is a highly underrated area of his game. During his collegiate career he was very good at forcing turnovers in the neutral zone.
The young 23-year-old in Cates logged 14:52 of ice time, had three hits, forced three takeaways, and registered three shots on that in his first game in the NHL. Not a bad start, and his line that consisted of Morgan Frost and Owen Tippett were the Flyers best line in the third period. It appeared every time their line saw the ice in the third period a scoring chance ensued. He was alo bumped up to the top line for a few shifts in the third, as well.
Cates has hockey smarts and is a strong competitor. He is a thin but a very agile skater who needs to improve his jump, but Cates has gotten stronger as weighs 190 pounds at the moment. Cates is a highly skilled player that can shoot the puck well in tight areas.
Noah joins his brother Jackson with the orange and black, and Jackson (Although injured/) was in attendance for Noah’s NHL debut. Noah did not appear nervous in his first game in the nhl, and that is something to build on. He has a bright future, it will take work to compete, but in the end he has the skillset to be an NHL mainstay.
Click here TO SHOP AT OUR TEAM STORE
