No one saw this coming. Noah Cates has already been heralded as potentially the Philadelphia Flyers’ best center but he has become a steady and dangerous option to impact the game in every area of the ice. And the coaching staff knows it.
Whether it has been out of necessity or riding the hot hand, the 25-year-old has been getting more and more opportunity with the Flyers as his season progressed. Famously, Cates was the healthy scratch when Jett Luchanko shockingly made the NHL roster as an 18-year-old. He was the immediate option as the odd man out.