The Flyers see a young Sean Couturier in Noah Cates, who is emerging as the team’s top penalty-killer

After the Flyers beat the San Jose Sharks in a shootout last week, Travis Konecny, who was surrounded by television cameras and various recording devices, was asked about Noah Cates.

“He does all the things that everyone should do. We always joke that he’s like the younger [Sean Couturier],” he said.

When asked about the comparison Tuesday, Cates chuckled and grinned before calling it an honor to be compared to the Flyers captain. Couturier won the Selke Trophy in 2020 as the NHL’s top defensive forward.

Two years ago, it was a fair parallel. After debuting with the Flyers late in the 2021-22 season after finishing his college career at Minnesota-Duluth, Cates ranked third among NHL forwards in Evolving Hockey’s even-strength defensive rating (6.5) the following season, which measures defensive goals above replacement. He ranked one spot below perennial Selke Trophy winner Patrice Bergeron and in the company of established two-way NHLers like Sam Reinhart, Mark Stone, and Radek Faksa. At 24, he finished the season 15th in the Selke voting, receiving one second-place vote.

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Last year he struggled to find his footing — partly because of a broken foot sustained around Thanksgiving — but he still finished the season tied for 10th in the league in even-strength defensive rating with Flyers forward Garnet Hathaway (5.4). Then-rookie forward Tyson Foerster was No. 2 (6.7).

Cates, 25, was a healthy scratch in the season opener and sat for three of the next four games to start this season. But since then, he has become critical to the Flyers lineup, at wing or center, as the team continues to reestablish its forecheck and puck support.

“I thought Catesy’s been skating really well,” coach John Tortorella said Tuesday. “He’s played well, hasn’t finished, has chances to make plays and sometimes we don’t get it done there, but he’s done a really good job as far as holding on to pucks; I think he’s improved there, and sustaining offense by holding onto pucks instead of just throwing it in or throwing it away.”

Recently, Cates has been starting games skating on a line with Anthony Richard and Matvei Michkov, two guys still learning how to play away from the puck. He has just two assists on the season but has embraced being the defensively responsible cog in the trio.

”You can say that’s my game,” he said. “If that can help them feel more comfortable with playing their game on the offensive side — whether it’s cheating or taking a chance, being on their toes, maybe anticipating on the offensive side a little more — that’s great that I can provide some peace of mind that they can have that and not be giving up stuff defensively.”

The trio hasn’t played together long, and Tortorella is known to tinker with lines within games based on feel, but it combined for a goal in Saturday’s win against the Buffalo Sabres. Richard and Michkov earned the assists on defenseman Egor Zamula’s goal to give the Flyers a 3-0 lead while Cates screened Sabres goalie Devon Levi. Later in the game, Michkov fed Cates and his shot bounced off the pipe. Cates had a plus-minus of plus-3, while Richard and Michkov were each plus-2. It was just the fourth time in his first 16 games Michkov was on the ice for more goals for the Flyers than against.

On Monday night, they started together again. In the first period, Richard made a nice move to set up Cates for a shot attempt that was blocked by Colorado Avalanche defenseman Samuel Girard. In the second, they had back-to-back misses but kept their motors running with Cates setting the tone with his strong forecheck.

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“It’s so nice for a guy like me to play with guys who are good defensively,” Richard said. “Back in Lehigh, I was playing with [Jacob] Gaucher — he’s having an unbelievable season so far — and it’s kind of those guys that sometimes you don’t realize, but he has some good chemistry because they’re so good with their stick and they create turnovers.

“For me, I don’t think too much about defense when he’s out there, because he’s doing all those little things to get the puck back for us. I know the guys here liked him since he got here, just the fact that he’s always playing the same game. But it’s nice to have a guy like that, and he’s pretty good offensively, too, so I think we’re fitting pretty good together.”

The Flyers’ center position is a tenuous one and Tortorella wants to see more from his pivots. Cates, who Scott Laughton says has “been really good defensively, good stick, and makes it hard on other teams,” is one of the Flyers’ top penalty killers as seen by his almost full two-minute penalty-killing shift in overtime against the Sharks — and was put with Michkov and Richard almost by chance. Tortorella liked what he had in the Couturier, Konecny, and Owen Tippett line and a line centered by Laughton with wingers Bobby Brink and Joel Farabee.

“I thought it hit,” Tortorella said about his third line before adding they were a little inconsistent as the night wore on against the Avalanche. Don’t call Tortorella a mad scientist, but he already said he doesn’t know what Wednesday brings for the trio, which he did break up to find more offense in the second half of Monday’s game. The Flyers host the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday (7:30 p.m., NBCSP, TNT, Max).

Regardless of whether he keeps them together, Cates has been a positive influence on the youngster Michkov.

“A really good player, hard on the puck and picking up hard pucks,“ Michkov said about Cates through a team translator. ”Always like to see him playing and want to play like him, hard on the puck. He’s a very important player on the team and he’s taken most of the PK and maybe he cannot score like me but he’s making a lot of good plays and good work for the team."

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Zamula was on the ice after missing most of the third period on Monday. … Defenseman Travis Sanheim was not on the ice for practice. The expectation is that he had a maintenance day. … Blueliner Jamie Drysdale remained in a noncontact jersey and Cam York was again in a regular jersey. It sounds like York is close to returning, but the Flyers are being cautious.

Around the rink is a new segment every Friday, highlighting the local ice, ball, and inline hockey scene. Submit entries by Friday mornings to jspiegel@inquirer.com.