Cates secured his future with the Philadelphia Flyers when he signed a four-year, $16 million contract ($4 million average annual value) June 3, 2025, in lieu of becoming a restricted free agent.

He just completed a two-year, $5.25 million contract ($2.625 million AAV) he signed with the Flyers on July 10, 2023, and had 37 points (16 goals, 21 assists) in 78 games of the 2024-25 season, ranking him seventh on the team in points and fifth in goals.

Cates was chosen by the Flyers in the fifth round (No. 137) of the 2017 NHL Draft. The native of Stillwater, Minnesota, made his NHL debut in his home state, skating 14:52 in a 4-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center on March 29, 2022. He scored his first NHL goal in his fourth game, a 4-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets in Philadelphia on April 5.

Cates won an NCAA National Championship at the University of Minnesota Duluth as a freshman in 2019, played in the 2021 Frozen Four and helped the Bulldogs to the Final Eight in 2022. He was captain for his junior and senior season and finished with 99 points (39 goals, 60 assists) in 139 games.

Internationally, Cates won a silver medal with the United States at the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship and was an alternate captain at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.