Noah Cates is a smart player for the Flyers, which earns him points with his new coach, Rick Tocchet

Noah Cates doesn’t think last year should carry over.

It’s a fair thought, as every season begins with a clean slate, and especially with a new coaching staff. But Cates clearly took a step forward across the 2024-25 season, centering the Flyers’ most consistent and fundamentally sound line. Cates, Tyson Foerster, and Bobby Brink were often used as the example of what to do for the rest of the team during video sessions. Cates set a career high in goals (16) and had 37 points last season, one shy of his career best.

As the saying goes, “the past is a place of reference, not a residence,” and Cates should use his last season as just that.

“I think Cater, the sky’s the limit for him,” forward Travis Konecny said. “I think a lot of people look at him just like, you know, the safety guy — he’s always in the right spots. But the skill he has and the way he learns and listens ... [he] wants to get better.”

Being in the “right spots,” and having attention to detail is something that Cates has been known for since his days playing at the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

“He did so many little things well,” Bulldogs coach and former Flyers defenseman Scott Sandelin, who coached Cates for four seasons, said in April. “He might not have been Connor McDavid speed, but a player that had a lot of great detail to his game and took a lot of pride in just a lot of the little things, that maybe to a general hockey person you don’t know, but to a coach you appreciate.”

And Rick Tocchet is already appreciative of what he has seen from Cates, who can play any forward position because, as Sandelin said, “he just loves playing the game, and he wants to help the team,” so he’ll “do whatever he can.” But the 26-year-old from Stillwater, Minn., has clearly solidified his role, not just as a center but as a reliable and smart middle man.

“Intelligence,” Tocchet said when asked what he’s seen from Cates. “The hockey IQ. When you check the box, he’s a very highly intelligent guy. I’ve seen it already, [on Sunday during the New York] Islanders game. Somebody ran out of position, and he knew to cover that situation. It’s almost like he knows [that], all right, I’ve got to give this shot away, because I’m taking their Grade A away. That’s an intelligent guy.”

After a down season in 2023-24, which saw Cates miss weeks with a broken foot and end with six goals and 18 points in 59 games, he started last season as a healthy scratch in four of the first five games. He said in April it was a tough start to the season but that he stayed positive and “just knew that I had to be hungry and stay focused.”

This year, he’s focused on building his offensive game — and there’s no doubt it will come because, as Sandelin saw during his college days, he is always motivated to get better. But Cates also credits his newfound focus with the fresh look that Tocchet and assistant coaches like Jaroslav “Yogi” Svejkovský are implementing. He sees it as a structure that fits how he sees the game. However, Tocchet doesn’t want his players to be robotic in their movements.

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“He can have his own playbook, too. Yeah, we like certain things, but if he sees something, I want him to go for it. I don’t want him to be robotic,” Tocchet said.

Added Cates: “I think so many guys on this team are so creative and skilled. I think my offense kind of comes from structure and details, being in the right spots, being smart, rather than going through a guy or beating a guy. So I think I can add that element, help the really creative and skilled guys.”

And the creative and skilled guys like what he brings.

“He’s probably our best forward at like, when you give him the puck, it’s hard to get it back from him, his puck protection, picking out rims on the wall, he’s hard on his stick,” Konecny said. “So I think it’s a big year for him.”

On Tuesday, Tocchet revealed he received a phone call from the Pittsburgh Penguins captain about one of his new players, Tyson Foerster.

“[At] the World Championships, Sidney Crosby called me and told me that he loved him … [that he’s] a sponge and stuff,” said Tocchet, a former Penguins assistant coach. “So when you hear that from one of the best players that a guy on your team, he really likes some — he even said it about Noah Cates — pretty good endorsement.”

On Wednesday, Foerster said, “Any time a player like that says something about you, it’s pretty cool.”

And how was it being in Europe, playing for Canada with players like Crosby?

“I think I was just trying to fit in over there,” Foerster said. “There’s a bunch of big dogs there, so just trying to fit in and not take too much. But, I think, just watching them in practice, and stay on after, and do all the little things, it’s really cool to see.”

Tocchet was asked about new Flyers center Trevor Zegras and how things are going now that they’re on the same team.

“The guy hasn’t liked his last couple of years, has doubters, like we all do. That’s the world we live in, you’re doubted all the time, so use that as fuel. And he’s in [his] house, this is his sanctuary,” Tocchet said.

The coach talked about how much of an impact the New York native — who has stayed out on the ice long after practice to work on things, notably on Wednesday with Matvei Michkov — is truly making.

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“His personality is great for our room. He smiles. I think he calls me ‘Taco’ now,” Tocchet said to a laugh in the room.

“I don’t know what he’s calling me, but I like the fact that he’s a good kid and he wants to learn. But there’s certain parts of his game he knows he has to clean up and he’s willing to learn.”

For the record, Taco was a nickname Tocchet heard when he was younger, but it didn’t stick.

The Flyers have assigned two of their 2025 draft picks, forward Matthew Gard and defenseman Luke Vlooswyk, to Red Deer of the Western Hockey League. Gard played in the preseason game against the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday, registering a shot on goal across 11 minutes, 11 seconds of ice time. ... Defenseman Andre Mondoux, a camp invite who has been with the Flyers since development camp, was returned to Kingston of the Ontario Hockey League. The 18-year-old, who was not drafted in June, has played only eight games in the OHL.