Oliver Bonk (born January 9, 2005) is a Canadian ice hockey player for the
London Knights of the
Ontario Hockey League (OHL) while under contract to the
Philadelphia Flyers of the
National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted 22nd overall by the Flyers in the
2023 NHL Entry Draft
The 2023 NHL Entry Draft will be the 61st NHL Entry Draft. The draft is expected to be held on June 28–29, 2023, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.
Eligibility
Ice hockey players born between January 1, 2003, and September 15, 200 ...
.
Playing career
During the
2022–23 season, in his first full season with the
London Knights, Bonk recorded ten goals and 30 assists in 67 games. He ranked second among rookie defencemen in the OHL with 40 points, and ranked first with 17 power-play points and four short-handed points.
Bonk was named to the league's Second All-Rookie Team.
Following the conclusion of the season, Bonk was drafted 22nd overall by the
Philadelphia Flyers. Bonk was one of two of Philadelphia's first-round selections, the other being
Matvei Michkov
Matvei Andreyevich Michkov (russian: Матвей Андреевич Мичков; born 9 December 2004) is a Russian professional ice hockey centre currently playing for HC Sochi of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), on loan from fellow KHL clu ...
. The Flyers had acquired the 22nd pick from the
Columbus Blue Jackets via trade, who in turn had acquired the pick from the
Los Angeles Kings at the trade deadline.
Bonk missed several weeks of the
2023–24 season while participating in the
2024 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships
The 2024 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (''2024 WJHC'') will be the 48th edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship. It will begin on December 26, 2023 and will end with the gold medal game being played on January 5, 2024. This ma ...
with the
Canadian junior team.
After a lengthy goalscoring drought that had begun in the final months of the 2022–23 season, coach
Dale Hunter shifted Bonk's power play position, resulting in a significant increase in goalscoring for the remainder of the season. He finished the regular season with 24 goals and 43 assists in 60 games, and was named to the OHL First All-Star Team.
The Knights received the
Hamilton Spectator Trophy as the top team in the regular season, and in the playoffs reached the OHL Finals for the second consecutive season, where they defeated the
Oshawa Generals
The Oshawa Generals are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. They are based in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. The team is named for General Motors, an early sponsor (commercial), sponsor which has its Canadian headquarters in Oshawa. ...
to hoist the
J. Ross Robertson Cup.
Bonk had 7 goals and 9 assists in the championship run,
[ and was cited as a key part of the "core" of the team.][
]
International play
Bonk made his debut with the Canadian national junior team at the 2024 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships
The 2024 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (''2024 WJHC'') will be the 48th edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship. It will begin on December 26, 2023 and will end with the gold medal game being played on January 5, 2024. This ma ...
. With the quarter-final game against the Czech Republic tied eleven seconds from going to overtime, a puck redirected into the Canadian net off Bonk's stick, and as a result Team Canada was eliminated. He remarked that it was a "bad bounce," and vowed to use the overall experience as motivation, saying "we're not going to mope about it and feel bad about ourselves. It was a world-class atmosphere."[
]
Personal life
Bonk is the son of Czech former player Radek Bonk. Oliver was born in Ottawa, Ontario while Radek was playing for the Ottawa Senators.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
International
Awards and honours
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonk, Oliver
2005 births
Living people
Canadian ice hockey defencemen
Canadian people of Czech descent
Ice hockey people from Ottawa
London Knights players
NHL first-round draft picks
Philadelphia Flyers draft picks