Noah Powell is eager to learn and develop his game in his first development camp with the Philadelphia Flyers, and despite some obstacles in his journey, he's ready to take full advantage of the opportunity in front of him.
"It's a pretty cool experience," Powell said. "I feel like everyone's been pretty welcoming so far with the new guys, returning guys, and the coaching staff. It's been pretty special."
Powell was overlooked in his first time around in the 2023 NHL Draft, but was selected by the Flyers in 2024, and is a "a physical power forward who tends to get into gritty areas, score goals" that fans will want to keep an eye on.
A breakout season in 2023-24 helped boost his confidence and put him high on scouts' radars, becoming a prolific goalscorer with an undeniable presence on the ice.
"I came in, and things were a little slower than I expected, but there was a spot in the lineup due to injuries and suspensions," he explained. "I ran with it from there and built up my confidence to get better and better."
Powell has been affected by hearing loss since birth, but has been able to adapt so that he can be the best player and teammate he can be.
"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 said. "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."
His coaches have gone put in the additional effort to help make sure he is as successful as possible, something that Powell highlighted during his media availability on Tuesday.
"Sometimes [the coaches tap me on the shoulder]," he said. "My coach knew where I was sitting in the locker room during video sessions so I can see his face. He was always taking the extra step to make sure I heard what I needed to hear and do what he was asking of me."
Flyers Head of Player Development Riley Armstrong also gave some more insight into how Powell is from a coach's perspective, and he had nothing but compliments for the young forward.
"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," he said. "We were talking about him in the locker room today, [about] how serious he is on the ice. He actually hit me in one of our drills and I felt it! He was one of the few guys who I said, 'Oh geez, this guy is tough.' But he's 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."
Armstrong described how openness and transparency are key parts of the relationship between coaches and players during development camp, especially in Powell's case.
"There's an open-door policy with us that if he has questions, come up and ask," he described. "There's nothing wrong with asking questions and speaking your mind a little bit. Once guys open that door with us, questions start to come a little more."
