Philadelphia Flyers sign 2023 first-round pick Oliver Bonk to ELC

The six-foot-two defenseman scored 10 goals and 40 points in 67 games with the London Knights during the 2022–23 OHL season, finishing eighth in team scoring and second to Montreal Canadiens prospect Logan Mailloux in points by a Knights defender. He added 11 assists in 21 OHL playoff games with the team as the Knights lost in the OHL Final to the Peterborough Petes. The right-shot defenseman set career highs in goals, assists, points, power-play, and shorthanded goals.

Bonk also appeared in five games for Canada in the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup to help them win a gold medal.

Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis ranked Bonk as the No. 31 prospect available in this year’s draft. Here’s what he had to say about Bonk in his final 2023 NHL Draft Rankings:

“The son of former NHLer Radek Bonk, Oliver played a ton of minutes this year thanks to his strong own-zone play. He’s capable of creating damage in the O-zone, too. He fits the mold of a modern-day defender who can do some of everything.”

Bonk has compiled 10 goals and 33 assists for 43 points in 77 career OHL games with the Knights.

Bonk is part of the Flyers’ prospect pool that includes Matvei Michkov, who was taken seventh overall at the 2023 NHL Draft and Cutter Gauthier, to name a few players. The Flyers used their 2022 first-round selection on Gauthier.