The Philadelphia Flyers signed forward Noah Cates to a two-year contract extension worth $5.25 million. The deal carries an annual average of $2.625 million per season until.
OFFICIAL: We've agreed to terms with forward Noah Cates on a two-year, $5.25 million contract ($2.625 million AAV). https://t.co/h4DV0xxEbX
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) July 10, 2023
Noah Cates Re-Signs with Philadelphia Flyers
Cates pieced together a quality rookie campaign this past season. In his first full season with Philadelphia, Cates scored 13 goals and registered 25 assists for 38 points in 82 games. Moreover, he led the Flyers with 60 takeaways.
Throughout his career, Cates has recorded 18 goals and 47 points in 98 games. Cates was selected by the Flyers in the fifth round, 137th overall in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. Before joining Philadelphia, Cates spent four seasons with The University of Minnesota-Duluth.
Cates Earned John Tortorella’s Trust Early On
The first attribute that comes to mind when describing Cates’ play-style is his defensive ability. It didn’t take long for Flyers’ Head Coach, John Tortorella to trust Cates in key moments. Tortorella was comfortable alternating his position between left-wing and centre.
In addition, Cates started 13.52% of his shifts in the defensive zone. This was the second highest percentage amongst all Flyers last season, only behind Scott Laughton.
Cates Posted Stellar Defensive Metrics as a Rookie
Shot Maps created by Micah Blake McCurdy from HockeyViz are a great tool to understand how efficiently teams generate shots in a wide variety of situations. The blue regions identify a team that generates less than the league average rate of shots, the red regions for more than league average.
Cates defensive zone shot map shows he was able to suppress opponents’ shot generation thirteen percent better than the league average rate of shots. Furthermore, Cates wasn’t allowing any high-quality shots from the slot or the front of the net.
Philadelphia Awards Building Block For The Future
Cates solidified himself as one of Philadelphia’s top priorities this off-season. He will play an important role for the Flyers in the future. Philadelphia made changes to the front office with the hirings of General Manager, Daniel Briere and Director of Hockey Operations, Keith Jones.
Main Photo: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
