Photo by: Zack Hill
Written by: Owen Boyle
Five years after being drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers, Noah Cates is finally finding his home with the organization.
Cates scored two goals in the Flyers' 4-1 victory over their rival Pittsburgh Penguins. Cates has nine points (five goals, four assists) in his first 13 NHL games.
Cates was the game's first star.
The Stillwater, Minnesota native collected his second multi-point game of his career and his first three-point game with two goals and an assist against the Penguins.
"He [Cates] is a good reminder about going out and just doing the right things," Flyers interim head coach Mike Yeo said.
Cates deflected home a Keith Yandle point shot at the 6:49 mark of the second period. The goal gave the Flyers a 2-0 lead and turned out to be the game-winning goal.
He scored again at the 9:38 mark of the third period to give the Flyers a 3-0 lead. This time, deflecting an Ivan Provorov slapshot passed Penguins goalie Louis Domingue on the Power Play.
The Flyers are accustomed to the tip-in, with James Van Riemsdyk being one of the best to do it in franchise history.
"It requires unbelievable hand-eye coordination," Yeo said. "If you are not there [at the net], it's gonna be real tough to tip them."
Cates added an assist on Morgan Frost's opening goal in the first period.
"He [Cates] does all the little things right," Cates' linemate Morgan Frost said. "He works really hard and makes plays, he's a good player to have on the team."
Cates made his NHL debut on March 29th in front of his friends and family against his hometown Minnesota Wild.
His brother, Jackson, is also a member of the organization. He tallied one goal in 11 games this season for the Flyers before getting sent down to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Noah Cates spent four seasons at the University of Minnesota-Duluth where he won the 2019 National Championship.
Cates was an alternate captain for the 2022 Team USA Olympic hockey team that lost to Slovakia in the quarterfinals. He notched one goal in four games, coming in an 8-0 win against China.
After success with Minnesota-Duluth and Team USA, Cates signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Flyers on March 27, 2022.
Cates scored his first NHL goal on April 5th in a 4-2 home loss against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Cates has been a point-per-game scorer over the past five games, continuing to show his value on the Flyers' third line.
"For a guy that's a newcomer, you have to be really detailed in your game," Cates said. "I'm trying my best every night to pick up on little things that can help us."
Cates will look to continue his strong start to his NHL career in the Flyers' final three games of the season.
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