The Flyers have a future Selke candidate in Noah Cates. Now, can he take a leap offensively?

Patrice Bergeron won his record sixth Selke Trophy — the annual award given to the best defensive forward in the NHL — at the end of the 2022-23 season, a fitting end to what was the final campaign of the forward’s illustrious 19-year career with the Boston Bruins.

Bergeron finished in the top three in voting for the award in every season since 2011-12, a remarkable run as arguably the best two-way forward in NHL history.

And so with Bergeron retired, it’s time for new blood of sorts, and the Flyers look like they have a player who can compete for the award in the future ... it’s just not the obvious one.

Center Sean Couturier won the award in 2019-20, and finished second two seasons earlier. His return to the Flyers this season following multiple back surgeries is a major development that should significantly improve the team’s forward group. But the emergence last season of rookie Noah Cates gives the Flyers two elite defensive forwards, an evolution that gives coach John Tortorella the ability to match up with opposing lines in a way few coaches can — only four teams had multiple players finish in the top 20 in voting for the Selke last season.

Assuming Cates and Couturier stay healthy, and Couturier returns to his pre-injury form, the Flyers could be in that category in 2023-24.

» READ MORE: Inside Flyers star Sean Couturier’s 21-month journey to get back on the ice

It’s easy to make a declaration like that with Cates, who entered last season’s training camp as a winger just trying to make the club and finished it as a top-six center and defensive analytics darling. Because Cates, who debuted with the Flyers in 2021-22 after finishing his college career at Minnesota-Duluth, ranked third in Evolving Hockey’s even-strength defensive rating, one spot ahead of Bergeron and in the company of established two-way NHLers like Sam Reinhart, Mark Stone, and Radek Faksa. The 24-year-old Cates finished 15th in Selke voting, and even received one second-place vote.

It’s early, of course, as Cates has played in just 98 NHL games, but it appears the Flyers have hit big on the 2017 fifth-rounder. His elite defensive play, especially while being matched against opposing teams’ top players each night, was an extraordinary development for a team focused on developing.

“I force-fed him everything he could possibly eat last year and he handled himself very well,” Tortorella said of Cates’ rookie season.

It seems everyone around the Flyers now — Cates himself, Tortorella, even Couturier — is dialed in on Noah Cates 2.0, the version of the player that includes a bit more offensive prowess.

“We don’t need to worry about him as far as his play away from the puck,” Tortorella said. “He gets that. Now he has to put some pressure on himself as far as the offensive part of the game, without losing that part, which he won’t.

“He wants to be a complete player and put up points.”

“[I] kind of know my game away from the puck and defensively what I can do,” Cates said. “That’s pretty solid, obviously ... but with the puck, if you can play with the puck, that’s obviously the best defense you can play. So I think that’s just the next level, the next step I can take to add to this team.”

Cates during the offseason reviewed his season with his father, Jeff, who was a defensive assistant coach for Noah and his brother, former Flyers center Jackson, when the boys were growing up in Minnesota. The father-son duo watched film, Noah said, and they agreed that Noah missed out on some offensive opportunities. In all, Noah finished with 13 goals and 25 assists in 82 games while mostly being relied on for his defensive ability. Noah was rushing at times, Jeff said, and more patience could have produced more points.

» READ MORE: Brotherly Love: Jackson and Noah Cates’ unbreakable bond has carried them from their Minnesota basement to the Flyers

That offensive production is a big question mark for a Flyers team looking to create more offense. It’s especially prudent to center Morgan Frost, Tortorella intimated, in a sense that Cates could become the second-line center.

“What if he starts producing offensively?” Tortorella said of Cates. “Let’s say [Couturier] comes back and does the things we all know he can do, and then you have Frosty who is supposed to be an offensive center. Does Catesy displace him in an offensive role? I want to see it play out. If we can get Noah Cates to gain confidence offensively, he may pass a few other guys. And for me, it puts me in a good situation because I can play him and Coots against two top lines of opposing teams and feel pretty comfortable, both offensively and defensively.”

Couturier didn’t get a chance to play with Cates last season but said he liked what he saw watching from afar.

“There’s never any cheat in his game and that’s something I respect a lot,” Couturier said. “Those types of players are really hard to play against. You might not notice them as much, but those are the guys you make long playoff runs [with] and build teams around.”

Up high on the list of things Cates is actively working on is faceoffs, as he won just 39.5% of his draws as a rookie. He said he learned a lot in that department from Couturier toward the end of last season when the veteran center began practicing with the team again.

“I think what I love about him is his attention to detail,” Couturier said. “He tries to learn everything that he can and get better in every phase of his game.

“I’m sure faceoffs is one aspect that he’s taken pretty seriously over the last couple of months. You can tell, I feel anyway, he seems to be a little stronger on his stick in the dot. It’s positive, and I’m really looking forward to the growth in his game and hopefully he can chip in more offense because I really do think he’s got a sneaky good offensive mind and instincts that a lot of people don’t notice, and if he gets certain opportunities, he can jump on those.”

Cates, who signed a two-year, $5.25 million contract extension with the Flyers in July, said he feels more comfortable during this training camp than last year’s, although he said he knows he still has to “make your mark and put yourself on this team and earn it every day.”

Line combinations aren’t set in stone, but he has been playing down the middle early in camp with veteran Scott Laughton and youngster Tyson Foerster on what would appear to be the Flyers’ third line. Cates said he liked the offensive energy Foerster brings and feels comfortable with Laughton, himself a player with experience at wing and center.

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

It was Foerster, a 21-year-old looking to break through and earn a roster spot with the Flyers, who complimented Cates during rookie camp earlier this month. Foerster said he learned a lot watching Cates prepare and the way he handled himself every day.

Cates said last year was a “huge step” in his hockey career, and he’s ready for another.

“Playing a full season and seeing what it took and it was a lot of extra work,” Cates said. “It was a lot of things at the rink, away from the rink, it was a 24/7 kind of thing. I love it.

“It’s a little different from college where you’re just playing two [games] on the weekends. It’s a full-time job and it’s what I wanted my entire life. To have it come to fruition last year, and take another step, get a nice contract this year, there’s even more responsibility, even more things I can do to be an even better player and take this team to the next level.”