Jackson Cates (born September 28, 1997) is an American professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

who is playing with the

Rockford IceHogs The Rockford IceHogs are a professional ice hockey team based in Rockford, Illinois. They are members of the American Hockey League (AHL), having begun play in the League starting in the 2007–08 season. The team plays their home games at the ...

in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL). He has previously played with the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wells ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL).

Early life

Cates was born on September 28, 1997, in

Stillwater, Minnesota Stillwater is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Washington County. It is in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, on the west bank of the St. Croix River (Wisconsin-Minnesota), St. Croix River, across from H ...

. He played ice hockey for the

Stillwater Area High School Stillwater Area High School (SAHS) is a public school located in Oak Park Heights, Minnesota, United States. It serves as the primary high school for the Stillwater Area Public School District (834), the oldest public school district in Minnesota ...

Ponies, a tenure which included two state tournament appearances in 2014 and 2016. His career totals of 57

goals A goal is an objective that a person or a system plans or intends to achieve. Goal may also refer to: Sport * Goal (sports), a method of scoring in many sports, or the physical structure or area where scoring occurs ** Goals, the goal frame in ...

and 63 assists, for a total of 120

points Point or points may refer to: Places * Point, Lewis, a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Point, Texas, a city in Rains County, Texas, United States * Point, the NE tip and a ferry terminal of Lismore, Inner Hebrides, Scotland * Point ...

, was the highest in school history, and at the end of his senior year, Cates was given the

Herb Brooks Herbert Paul Brooks Jr. (August 5, 1937 – August 11, 2003) was an American ice hockey player and coach. His most notable achievement came in 1980 as head coach of the gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic team at Lake Placid. At the Games, Brooks' ...

Award, bestowed annually on the state tournament player who best demonstrates the values and traits exemplified by Herb Brooks.

Playing career

Amateur

Cates played

junior ice hockey Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

with the

Waterloo Black Hawks The Waterloo Black Hawks are a Tier I junior ice hockey team playing in the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL) under president and general manager P.K. O'Handley. The Black Hawks' home ice is the Young Arena in Waterl ...

of the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictly ...

. He scored a

hat trick A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

with the team on January 28, 2018, in a 7–3 rout of the

Cedar Rapids RoughRiders The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders are a Tier I junior ice hockey team playing in the United States Hockey League (USHL). Before moving to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 1999, the team was based in Mason City, where they were known as the North Iowa Huskies ...

. Cates originally committed to play hockey at

Michigan Tech Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech, MTU, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Houghton, Michigan, founded in 1885 as the Michigan Mining School, the first post-secondary institution in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. ...

, but decided to sign a

National Letter of Intent National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

with the

University of Minnesota Duluth The University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) is a public university in Duluth, Minnesota. It is part of the University of Minnesota system and offers 16 bachelor's degrees in 88 majors, graduate programs in 25 different fields, and a two-year progr ...

in August 2017 so that he could play alongside his younger brother. In his junior season, Cates posted 27 points (11 goals and 16 assists) in 28 games with the Bulldogs.

Professional

On April 13, 2021, the

of the

(NHL) signed Cates as a college free agent to a two-year

entry-level contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless of ...

with an average annual value of $925,000. Due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

restrictions, Cates was required to quarantine after arriving in Philadelphia before he could skate with the team. Cates made his NHL debut on April 23, 2021, in a game against the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

. When

Morgan Frost Morgan Frost (born May 14, 1999) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Frost was drafted in the first round, 27th overall, by the Flyers in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. Gro ...

was placed in COVID-19 protocols on December 15, 2021, Cates was promoted to Philadelphia for their road game against the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

. He scored his first NHL goal in that game, putting the Flyers up 2–1 in a shootout loss. On September 11, 2023, he was signed to a professional tryout (PTO) contract by the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

and spent time with the team during their preseason training camp. Released from his tryout with New York, he began the 2023–24 season on a PTO with AHL affiliate, the

Bridgeport Islanders The Bridgeport Islanders (previously known as the Bridgeport Sound Tigers) are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League (AHL). They are the AHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's New York Islanders, who own the f ...

, on October 12. After scoring one goal in 12 games with the team, he was released from the PTO on December 7. He continued in the AHL, signing a PTO with the Rockford IceHogs, affiliate to the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

, on December 12, 2023.

Player profile

Scott Sandelin Scott Alan Sandelin (born August 8, 1964) is an American former professional ice hockey player. He is currently the head coach of the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockey team. In 2011, he became the first coach in Bulldog history to lead t ...

, Cates' coach at the University of Minnesota Duluth, referred to him as "a really smart skater who can make plays", and emphasized Cates'

200-foot game A 200-foot game is a definition in ice hockey that describes a player's (usually a forward's) ability to have strong presence in all three zones of an ice rink, which is standardized at 200 feet long. Players who can play a 200-foot game are contra ...

power play Power play or powerplay or their plurals may refer to: Sports * Power play (sporting term), a sporting term used in various games * Powerplay (cricket), a rule concerning fielding restrictions in one-day international cricket * Power play (cur ...

, and

penalty kill Short-handed is a term used in ice hockey and several related sports, including water polo, and refers to having fewer skaters (players) on the ice during play, as a result of a penalty. The player removed from play serves the penalty in the pen ...

abilities.

Personal life

Cates is the older brother of

Noah Cates Noah Cates (born February 5, 1999) is an American professional ice hockey Winger (ice hockey), left wing currently playing for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Cates was drafted 137th overall by the Flyers in the 2017 ...

, who was selected by the Flyers in the fifth round of the

2017 NHL Entry Draft The 2017 NHL Entry Draft was the 55th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 23–24, 2017, at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. The first three selections were Nico Hischier going to the New Jersey Devils, Nolan Patrick going to the ...

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cates, Jackson 1997 births Living people American men's ice hockey centers Bridgeport Islanders players Ice hockey players from Minnesota Lehigh Valley Phantoms players Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockey players People from Stillwater, Minnesota Philadelphia Flyers players Sportspeople from Washington County, Minnesota Undrafted National Hockey League players Waterloo Black Hawks players