For a Flyers team icing a number of inexperienced players looking to prove themselves, any meaningful contributions from these players would truly be icing on the cake and kindling to stoke the fire of hope for the future of this franchise.
Noah Cates fits into this category, and boldly so at that. After impressing with a stretch of 16 games during the 2021-22 season where he scored 9 points on around 13 minutes of ice time per night, he proved he was ready for the NHL.
Now, in his true rookie season at the age of 24, Cates played all 82 games in 2022-23 and looked pretty good in increased minutes (ATOI of 17:46). He looks to have all the makings of a solid two-way center in the NHL who you may not rely on to finish top 10 in points, but who will always make smart plays and improve your chances at winning night in and night out.
Basic Stats
25 of Cates’ 38 points (around 66% of his points, for a comparison) were at 5-on-5, which is a good sign for the play-driving ability of this player in the future. His 47.06% Corsi-For% at 5-on-5 may not seem too impressive, but considering this statistic was put up by a rookie on a mediocre team, Cates has done quite well.
Other than his decent point production, what stands out about Cates’ season was his shooting percentage, which only trailed Morgan Frost and Travis Konecny. It will be interesting to see if Cates can keep up this level of shooting efficiency in future seasons. However, if he continues to play effective two-way hockey, I think all will be forgiven.
Three Questions
Did they live up to expectations?
By playing as well as he did at all this season, Cates lived up to expectations. He may not have been on pace points-wise to match his small cup-of-coffee in the NHL the season prior, but that was a pipe dream.
What can we expect from next season?
Ideally, Cates could improve on his point production, and ascend into the 40-45 point range while continuing his two-way play. It would certainly help the Flyers’ future plans to have a projected top-six center with his play style to compliment Couturier.
How do we grade their 2022-23 season?
To quote our good friend Ryan Quigley:
“He was arguably the best center on the roster this season, and even one of the best players overall.”
We agree with this statement.
A
Stats courtesy of Hockey Reference, and Natural Stat Trick
