Flyers draft pick Noah Powell is hearing impaired but is ‘not going to let anything hold him back’

This NHL draft was a little different for Noah Powell.

Last year, in his first year of eligibility, the center with the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the United States Hockey League was not selected. Fast-forward exactly one year, and while sitting in Chicago with close friends and family, he got a text from his agent, who was in Las Vegas for the draft. Thanks to a bit of broadcast delay, he was fully focused when about 15 seconds later his name flashed on the TV screen. He was the Flyers’ fifth-round pick.

“He’s obviously dedicated himself,” assistant general manager Brent Flahr said following the draft. “His game took a huge step. I think skating is one area that improved, but conditioning-wise and everything, his game just went to another level. He brings an element of toughness. He can really shoot the puck and, obviously, score goals, but he has a presence physically in every game he played. I went there not to watch him initially, and he’s just one of those players who forces you to watch, and there’s a real presence in him.”

What the 19-year-old Powell also brings is the competitiveness that coach John Tortorella loves. He’s also someone who doesn’t give up. This past season, he scored once in his first 16 games for Dubuque. In the final 45 games, he scored 42 goals. By the end of the season, he finished atop the USHL in goals and power-play goals.

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“Very driven. He wants to go out there and he wants to be the best and he’s going to push himself,” Ohio State coach Steve Rohlik told The Inquirer. “He will be competitive. He’s scored big goals. He’s had to fight. He’s done everything it takes to win. And I think you’d love to have that on your team.”

Powell will be joining the Buckeyes, his top choice, in the fall — he’s planning on majoring in quantitative finance but joked he may go with something a little easier based on the schedule — because, he said “they believed in me.” But first, he was skating at Flyers’ development camp on Tuesday. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound kid from the North Shore, just outside the Windy City, showed his competitive drive and tenacity during drills as he powered through them — and a coach.

“We were talking about it in the locker room earlier, how serious he is on the ice,” Flyers director of player development Riley Armstrong said. “He actually hit me in one of our drills and I felt it. He was one of the few guys I was saying, ‘Oh, Jesus, this guy is strong and he’s built pretty good.’ So, already at that age to have that level of muscle on his body, it’s pretty impressive.”

What has been impressive is not only the work Powell has done to improve his game but that he has reached this level despite having hearing loss since birth.

“I read lips pretty well. I do wear hearing aids, [but] sometimes it’s hard to wear them because there’s a lot of sounds on the ice and it can echo on the rink,” Powell said.

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“Sometimes it’s just kind of double-checking with the coaches or one of the guys around and really kind of paying attention,” he added. “I’ve really got to focus in and make sure I’m hearing what they’re saying so I can go out and execute. But I feel like I’ve gotten better with reading lips and just kind of making sure I’m really paying attention.”

Powell grew up playing with the American Hearing Impaired Hockey Association, co-founded by Hockey Hall of Famer and Chicago Blackhawks great Stan Mikita. To date, defenseman Jim Kyte is the only legally deaf player to don an NHL jersey. He played 598 games across 13 seasons.

“I think it speaks volumes of who he is, what he is, what he’s all about,” said Rohlik, whose daughter also has hearing loss. “This is just, I think, another focal piece for people out there in the similar situation. You don’t have to give up. You don’t ever have to give up. You can keep pushing forward and you can still be the best and reach your goals.

“He’s a prime example of that and that’s why I’m super proud of him. He didn’t use this as an excuse to say, ‘I can’t do something,’ and I think he’s someone that a lot of kids can look to in his similar situation and that they can obviously hopefully someday reach their dream to get drafted by an NHL team and attend Ohio State and hopefully get to that the highest level.

“He persevered and he’s not going to let anything hold him back.”