If there was a player that needed to build off of his previous season, it was Noah Cates.
After playing all 82 games through the 2022-23 season and building a very strong case to be a very good rookie, the pressure was on Cates to improve the parts of his game that he lacked during that campaign. Oddly enough, it wasn’t what most rookies are being criticized for.
Cates had a stellar defensive season and is still a stellar defensive player. He, frankly, gives a shit when it comes to the other team not scoring and that is far and beyond what most rookie forwards think when coming into the league.