VOORHEES, N.J. – Oliver Bonk got into his first NHL regular-season game last season.
Chances are it won’t be his last.
The 2023 first-round draft pick (22nd overall) appears to be over a couple injuries which have hindered the young defenseman’s progress.
With the departures of Emil Andre (trade) and Noah Juulsen (unsigned), the 21-year-old Bonk has hopes of making the Flyers’ roster this upcoming season. This after getting into the final regular-season game of the 2025-26 schedule as well as one playoff game.
Flyers assistant general manager Brent Flahr, who oversees the team’s scouting department, took that one step farther.
“I think he will challenge at camp (for a top-six starting spot),” Flahr said on Friday after completion of Development Camp at the Flyers Training Center. “He may force his (general manager Daniel Briere’s) hand.
“The moment is never too big for him, just the way he plays the game. It doesn’t matter what level. He came up at the end of last year (the final game, in which he registered a goal and an assist in a win over Montreal). That was a big game, it wasn’t like a waste game for Montreal (the Canadiens were still in the hunt for a top playoff spot).”
Bonk also turned in a strong season for the AHL Lehigh Valley Phantoms, posting six goals/19 points in 46 games. In the prior two seasons, he helped the OHL London Knights win a pair of Memorial Cups and his combined plus-65 played a big hand in those.
“I think he still needs to get stronger,” Flahr said of the 6-foot-2, 192-pound backliner. “Which he’s working on. He’s such a smart player that when he plays with NHL players, better players, he may just take off. We’ll see where that goes.”
Bonk is taking nothing for granted, even if Flahr believes the future is now.
“It’s nice to hear,” Bonk said, “but they can say whatever. . .it’s all up to me. I felt like last year I could have made a push (but) I was hurt. I’m doing everything I can to help this year. I’m going to make a push this year.”
To do that, a veteran will have to be pushed aside. Right now the betting favorite is Simon Benoit, a veteran who was just picked up in the multi-player trade with Toronto last month.
Bonk, a native of Ottawa and the son of former NHL superstar Radek Bonk, said the one-game trial in the big league last April was a valuable experience.
“I think it was all about building confidence,” was the 21-year-old Bonk’s takeaway from that game. “Just not throwing away pucks because you’re playing in your first NHL game and your first playoff game.
“You just have to be confident. Believe that you’re going to be there because you are there and realizing that I’m a good player and I should be there.”
Bonk continues to work on his skating. He’s a quite mobile player who uses his speed to cover up any defensive deficienies.
“That and confidence with the puck, without the puck, conditioning,” he said. “It’s a big summer, I’m excited to get going again next season.”
Those two brief NHL trials showed him what he has to work on.
“Obviously it’s a lot quicker game than what I saw the entire year,” he said. “There’s always quicker skaters. You just have to keep rolling.”
>Giroux rumors still alive
Free-agent forward Claude Giroux remains unsigned and so of course there are rumors that he’s headed back to Philadelphia. But reportedly several teams are interested in the former Flyer’s services, so the waiting game continues.
>Short shots
In Friday’s 3-on-3 scrimmage, several players stood out, including recent first-round draft pick Maksim Sokolovskii, a towering defenseman, and right wing Noah Powell among others.
Second-year players Porter Martone, Alex Bump and Denver Barkey didn’t have to attend the camp but chose to anyway. Why? “Well, I think it’s huge,” Flahr said. “They like to play. You could see the competitive juices come out. That’s why they’re here. They (the other young players) watch whatever they do. They’re following Martone, Barkey, Bump. It’s fun to watch.”
Flahr likes the play of Cole Knuble, son of former Flyer standout Mike Knuble. “He’s a little bit older (just turned 22). You can see his maturity. I don’t see his skating anymore as an issue.”
The assistant GM also had praise for defenseman Carter Amico, a second-round draft pick in 2024. “From a year ago to now, I think he’s come a million miles,” Flahr said.
Be the first to comment