The Flyers owe a lot of their current success to their former general manager Ron Hextall that is for sure! Ron’s abilities to spot talent both during the draft and when signing undrafted free agents is unparalleled. With him adding such names to the Flyers system during his reign here who are currently making a name for themselves at the pro level like Carter Hart, Ivan Provorov, Oskar Lindblom, Travis Sanheim, Philippe Myers, Travis Konecny, Joel Farabee, Nicolas Aubé-Kubel, Nolan Patrick, Morgan Frost, Mark Friedman, Egor Zamula, Connor Bunnaman, Carsen Twarynski, Isaac Ratcliffe, Kirill Ustimenko, Wyatte Wylie,Wade Allison, and Tanner Laczynski. You would think that now a couple of years removed from his job here in Philly Hextall’s prospect pipeline would be just about dried up; but you most certainly would be mistaken!
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For the next great talent to come from the work of the draft expert (that is Hextall) whose talents have been building rapidly as of late is that of the Flyers 2017 5th round draft pick – winger Noah Cates. Noah who was just a boy when he was drafted by the Flyers was a talented player yes, but was just made of skin and bones at the time is now a man who at 21 years old stands at 6’2 and weighs in at 190 pounds. Noah currently plays in the NCAA for the University of Minnesota-Duluth (UMD). Where he has taken over the role as captain this year for the Bulldogs. This American born talent plays that hard-nosed blue-collar style of Flyers hockey that this team was built on and currently lacks. Cates excels in the areas where others do not dare go. Fighting along the boards for the puck is a strength of his; and once he has won a board battle Noah’s puck protection skills are quickly revealed and are simply unmatched. Like his team’s mascot a Bulldog, on a bone Cates unwillingness to give up that puck once he has possession of it is outstanding. To go along with that Cates uses his newly acquired frame to become a net front presence during the teams’ power play opportunities and a grinder while playing on his teams’ penalty killing unit. Noah’s obsessive work ethic is inspiring and his coach’s trust in him just grows stronger by the day. Not only can Noah be entrusted to play on the teams’ power play and penalty killing units Cates has also been known to move over to the faceoff dot and play center when injuries have occurred in the past. When others may have gripped and complained about having to do this Noah does so without even batting an eye. Cates is just a true gamer who loves the game of hockey and will do anything to help his team win.
These traits have helped this Minnesota native to build upon his game every year. Going from a ’18-’19 season where he helped his team to a NCAA National Championship and followed that up by winning a silver medal while playing for Team USA (with then fellow Flyer prospect Joel Farabee) in the under 20 World Jr. Championships. To last season recording a near point per game pace (.97PPG) with 14 goals, 19 assists for 33 points in the 34 games played before having his chance at winning his second National Championship taken away from him by the COVID 19 virus which ended the entire leagues season early. To now being off to quite the impressive start yet again operating at an amazing 1.5 point per game pace this season for UMD.
So, with that being said it easy to see why Noah Cates just might be the next great prospect from the Hextall era to be signed to an NHL entry level contract with the Flyers. With all that being said though he couldn’t do all this alone. His older brother Jackson who plays on the Bulldogs with him has given them quite the unfair advantage against their competition. With just the amount of time that these two brothers have been on a sheet of ice together over the years it is easy to see how they have an almost physic ability to know where each other are or will be at any given time. Jackson who is 23-years-old and plays center is definitely the one who benefits most from his brother Noah’s labor along the boards. Operating at a goal a game pace this season Jackson (who is an undrafted free agent) may just find that the Flyers bought a second plane ticket to Philadelphia for him to accompany his brother Noah for his (Jacksons) second camp invite. Who knows for these two players might just make the next great set of brothers to wear the orange and black? (The previous being Brayden and Luke Schenn and Jim and Joe Watson).
Trying to get Noah signed to an entry level deal with the Flyers should be a forgone conclusion and a high priority in the current general manager (for the Flyers) Chuck Fletcher’s mind. The only question is just how soon will he do it?
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Come on Lance, how could you forget about the dynamic duo of Richie and Ronnie Sutter?
Although they played when I diapers. I did not forget about them. Just left them off because although Ron was a regular in the lineup for a long time his brother Richie was not in Philadelphia that long and in my mind wasn’t as much as a staple as the others.
Aslong as Chucks doesn’t let him go like Kalynuk!