Noah Cates says, “I’ve never been in that position before,” when asked about his benching earlier in the season at his exit interview. “Definitely humbling. I think I kept a really good focus. I get my chances, it’s a long season. When I got my chance, I knew that I was gonna take it and run with it.”
Cates put in the work this last Summer, and it was quite evident in his play as the season wore on. For his efforts, Cates looks like a mini Sean Couturier on the ice.
“He’s a coach’s dream.” – Head Coach of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms Ian Laperrière said following a Flyers first pre-season tilt
“He does everything right,” Laperrière continued. “He doesn’t cheat. He plays the right way and coachable. How can you not like a guy like that? I don’t know Torts much but I know every coach likes players like that. His brother is playing great too. Jackson, I wouldn’t but him out of the race either. He came in camp in tip-top shape and came in camp to make the team. I’m sure they trained together. They’re tight. They’re always together and it’s fun to watch. Noah is a pleasure to just see what he does, the little things that you don’t see, a super goal by beating a guy one-on-one or score a great goal. He does the little things that coaches like.”
Getting bigger, stronger, faster are common goals for young prospects to make it at the next level. For Cates, his line of Tyson Foerster and Bobby Brink became the Flyers most consistent line during the 2024-25 season, “I think it was just a lot of parts where our game really complemented each other,” Cates said of his line with Brink and Foerster. “Bobby’s got such an elite offensive mind and Tyson’s got a big frame with his shot, his stick defensively, so a lot of factors went into helping each other out and playing hard for each other.”
The comparison to Sean Couturier suggests a well-rounded game—strong skating, confidence,. That’s exactly what Cates displayed following his benching earlier in the season. He skated so well and was confident and poised to make the right play.
“He doesn’t surprise me anymore. He continues to get better.” – Former Flyers’ Head Coach John Tortorella
Cates creates turnovers in the neutral zone by suffocating his opponents, and sealing their gaps. This is a highly underrated area of his game. Throughout his collegiate career he was very good at forcing turnovers in the neutral zone, thus creating an odd man rust the other way. He has taken nothing for granted, and is relishing the moment.
The young 26-year-old in Cates logged an average of 15:53 of ice time, and he set a new career high in goals with 16. Not a bad start to his NHL career by any means, “On the leadership side, I think I grew towards the end of the year and got to be in some meetings to take that next step on that side of the team,” Cates said of his newfound leadership role, while partaking in leadership meetings. “Starting the year where I was, and finishing where I’m at. I’m really proud and happy with the season that I had.”
Cates emerged into a number two Center for the Flyers, as he was very consistent. He became a leader, especially after Joel Farabee and Scott Laughton were both traded. Now let’s see what he can do in 2025-26.
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