‘It feels good to be back’: Flyers forward Jackson Cates recalled with Owen Tippett ‘day to day’

On Thursday night in his Allentown hotel, just a few days after he was cut from the Flyers’ roster at the end of training camp, forward Jackson Cates watched their season opener against the New Jersey Devils.

When he saw winger Owen Tippett exit the game after colliding with Devils winger Ondřej Palát late in the first period, he tried not to think about the potential roster implications for him. Unsure of the severity of Tippett’s injury and of how the Flyers might fill his spot if need be, Cates didn’t want to get his hopes up for a recall.

» READ MORE: ‘Man, they play hard’: John Tortorella’s Flyers flash work ethic not perfection in season-opening win

But around 10 p.m., shortly after the Flyers pulled out a 5-2 win over the Devils, Cates got word from the team that they were calling him back up to the big club. He’s expected to play in the Flyers’ game against the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday.

“I’m excited to play tomorrow,” Cates said. “It feels good to be back.”

During practice on Friday, Cates took over Tanner Laczynski’s spot as the fourth-line center. Laczynski was bumped up to third-line right wing alongside left winger James van Riemsdyk and center Morgan Frost.

Flyers coach John Tortorella praised Cates for his strong camp following his loan to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, insisting that he would be back at some point. His camp was all the more impressive considering the fact that he sustained a serious leg injury with the Phantoms last season in March that ended his season prematurely.

But his younger brother, Flyers forward Noah Cates, wasn’t surprised about his sibling’s strong camp, given the hard work he put into improving his strength and his speed in the offseason.

“He’s such a strong player, and then just that little jump that he added,” Noah said. “When you’re that big and strong and you’ve got that speed, that’s huge. Yeah, he can shoot the puck, too. So obviously really, really excited to see him this year after a good summer, really good summer for him and just kind of what he can do and how he can help this team.”

The siblings played together in the preseason, but have yet to play a regular-season NHL game in the same lineup. The duo has plenty of familiarity on the ice, having grown up playing together in high school in Stillwater, Minnesota, and at the University of Minnesota Duluth. The Cates brothers would be the fifth pair of Flyers to play in a game together.

» READ MORE: Cates brothers’ unbreakable bond has carried them from their Minnesota basement to the Flyers

“We’re obviously both really excited,” Noah said. “And I’m looking forward to it.”

Fourth-line winger Hayden Hodgson did not blow Tortorella away in the Flyers’ season opener. In turn, even without Tippett for two-thirds of the game, Hodgson played just 4:46 of ice time, and the Flyers survived with just 10 forwards.

“I have to make decisions,” Tortorella said Friday. “Can he handle the National Hockey League right now? It’s not one particular thing. It’s just in a general sense. Is he ready to play in the National Hockey League? Last night, I decided he wasn’t for that game.”

After Hodgson participated in practice on Friday, Tortorella and the Flyers’ front office apparently came to a consensus — Fletcher announced they placed Hodgson on waivers with the intent of assigning him to the Phantoms.

Hodgson, 26, made his NHL debut last year — and scored a goal — on March 24 after spending the previous five seasons with two AHL teams, six ECHL teams, and even a second-tier Slovakian team. In six games with the Flyers last season, he registered one goal and two assists. Tortorella would rather Hodgson continue to get ice time in the AHL if he clears waivers then call him up when he’s ready for the next level.

“I don’t want Hodgy sitting here playing four, five minutes a game when he can be developing down there and getting a ton of minutes,” Tortorella said. “It’s unfair.”

Tippett (upper body), winger Cam Atkinson (upper body), and defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen (undisclosed) are each day-to-day to return to the lineup and will not play on Saturday, according to Tortorella.