2022-23 Flyers Player Profile: Noah Cates and Bobby Brink

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The 2017 draft hasn’t turned out quite like the Flyers had hoped. Nolan Patrick, the second overall pick has been traded away for Ryan Ellis, who is still struggling to get back on the ice. Morgan Frost, another first round pick, has struggled to stay consistently on the roster. Fifth round pick Noah Cates, however, has turned out to be a pleasant surprise. And if he continues to grow, he could end up being quite a bargain.

With everyone hurt last season, Claude Giroux traded to Florida, and the season in shambles, Cates was one of many late season call ups. Playing in 16 games, Cates made quite an impression. He scored five goals, including two against the Penguins on April 24th.

Cates hadn’t played in the AHL yet, so seeing the 23 year old forward come right up from the college ranks into the NHL was impressive. This past year, he played in 37 games for Univ. of Minnesota Duluth, scoring 11 goals.

Cates is one of those guys that could play a major role in how this team goes forward. If he can recapture what he did at the tail end of last season and bring it to this upcoming season, he could easily win a spot in training camp. He could end up being one of those late round draft picks that really shined for the Flyers.

His brother, Jackson, also is signed to the Flyers and has scored one goal in 15 games over two seasons. So, the Sedin brothers and Staal brothers they are not. But Noah has shown that he can be counted on to score when possible.

For Cates, this is his moment. If he can step up and take advantage of it, there is no telling as to how high his ceiling can go. He’s still on an entry level deal that’s worth $925,000. At that price, it is worth it for the Flyers to give him every opportunity to prove himself. If he gets that chance, there is no reason he can’t score 10+ goals. If not, we can see what he does at the AHL level and see what happens next.

Bobby Brink, Philadelphia Flyers (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

If the Flyers are in a rebuild or retool, they are going to need a strong corps of young players to start integrating into the team’s future plans along with the veteran players. Bobby Brink, the Flyers’s second round pick of 2019, figures to be part of those plans. The problem is, for the Flyers and for Brink, that might have to wait awhile.

Any Flyers fan can tell you that this past year the team wasn’t just bitten by the injury bug, they were mauled by it. As a result, a lot of young guys were called up to fill in the holes. Many of them weren’t ready. Some, like Noah Cates, turned out to be nice surprises. Cam York didn’t have as much of the impact the team had hoped.

Brink, a 21 year old winger, was called up for 10 games and registered four assists. Playing in his junior year at the University of Denver, he scored 14 goals and had 43 assists. He, again like Cates, made the jump from the NCAA to the NHL as the regular season was winding down to get a taste of what pro hockey is like. He showed flashes of potential and was one of those young guys that could get a look at during training camp.

However, that is going to have to be delayed. Just before the NHL draft, he was sidelined with a hip injury that needs surgery. Jay O’Brien, the Flyers first round pick of 2018, is also having hip surgery.

Because these sort of injuries take a lot of time to rehab and recover, we can’t expect to see Brink at the start of the season. If he is healthy enough to play, it would be far more likely to see him at Lehigh Valley getting his strength and speed back before he is called up.

If he is healthy enough to play this year, there are two scenarios for him being called up: A) He is killing it at the AHL level and he needs to play with the big boys or B) Just like last year, the injury bug has became like the bear on The Revenant and the Flyers are, once again, Leonardo DiCaprio and we need him.

First things first, he has to get healthy. After that, we can figure it out. But from what we’ve seen, he has shown an ability to play in the NHL. Let’s see if he can stay there.

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