PHILADELPHIA – If Noah Cates does wind up centering a line in even-strength situations with Tyson Foerster and Travis Konecny on the wings for the season opener against Pittsburgh, it promises to be an exciting one to watch.
And if Cates gets more time on the power play this season, that could be interesting as well.
At Thursday morning’s pre-game skate at the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees, N.J., Cates talked about what the trio’s potential might be.
“I think our offensive zone pressure could be really good,” Cates said. “Hunting pucks, winning pucks. Tyson, obviously his shot, TK’s shot as well. I think we can generate a lot of offense off the rush.”
Cates is coming off his best season in the NHL with career highs in goals (18), points (47) and a team-best plus-26.
Coach Rick Tocchet holds him in high regard, which is why he’s willing to invest in two of his top offensive flankers on that unit.
Cates might be getting more time on the power play this season as the Flyers look to get back to respectability in this important aspect of the game.
“It’s everybody knowing their roles in different spots,” Cates said. “Trusting where guys are at. We have to put it together, it hasn’t been good enough the past couple years. It’s doing the right things consistently. You build that chemistry. We need to get this thing going.”
With Tocchet now in his second season behind the bench and the players knowing what he wants (and doesn’t want), everyone’s job should be a little easier with the man advantage.
“Yeah, but there also needs to be competition, guys pushing each other,” Cates said. “It’s building a foundation and working off that. It’s getting pucks to the net and making different plays.”
And that’s where a lot of the offense is created, both on the power play and at even strength.
“It’s getting the shots off quickly from different angles,” Cates said. “The net front is where (Dallas Stars’) Wyatt Johnson had like 30 power-play goals (officially 27). Around 47 percent of the goals (a total of 45) were around that net front area.
“Get pucks there, get bodies there. Whatever it takes to get loose there. It’s the different things we talk about. It’s just getting there consistently and guys knowing where they’re at.”
Cates was asked about the potential of defenseman David Jiricek’s point shot on the power play in practice. No one seems to want to get in the way of that rocket.
“He’s got a hard shot,” Cates confirmed. “A shot went in off the knee. . .you’ll take those in the regular season. It might hurt but you’ve got to do it.”
>Five loaned to Phantoms
The Flyers have loaned Zach Aston-Reese, Nolan Foote, Danila Klimowich, Jack Studnicka and Cam Dineen to Lehigh Valley.
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