Philadelphia Flyers prospect Noah Powell has quickly endeared himself to fans all throughout the Flyers' development camp week, whether it be for his impressive skill displays or openly sharing his experience of reaching high levels of hockey while having hearing loss since birth, serving as an inspiration to other aspiring players with disabilities.
He was able to meet with one such young player before the development camp participants played a scrimmage to round out their week, sharing a heartfelt moment with seven-year-old Howard James, who also lives with hearing impairment.
Powell met with James and his family to gift him a Flyers shirt and hat, and sat and talked with the family to answer questions about how Powell navigates playing hockey with his hearing loss.
"I read lips pretty well, and 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 and ring," he explained earlier in the week. "I feel like I've gotten better over the years in terms of listening and hearing what the coaches are saying.
"Sometimes it's double checking with the coaches, or just really paying attention and making sure I focus on hearing what they're saying so I can go out and execute. I feel like I've gotten better with reading lips and making sure I'm really paying attention."
Powell spoke to the Philadelphia Inquirer afterward about how important it is for him to be open about his experiences so that he can be the representation that he needed growing up.
"I never had something like this,” he said. “I feel it’s a special moment and hopefully one day he can give it to another kid. I feel like you’re always playing for something bigger than yourself.”
The 19-year-old is certainly on his way to making an even bigger name for himself, committing to play hockey for Ohio State University this upcoming season and impressing his coaches at development camp.
"I think he's so in-tune with what's going on, maybe partially because of his condition. He's definitely always paying attention. You can tell, he's staring at you," said Flyers Director of Player Development Riley Armstrong. "We were talking about him in the locker room [about] how serious he is on the ice...It's pretty impressive."
