Oliver Bonk has held a consistent place on every fan's prospect radar since the Philadelphia Flyers drafted him in 2023, and after a hugely successful OHL season with the London Knights, he's continued to impress in rookie camp—looking closer than ever to getting some NHL minutes.
This camp is Bonk's second one, and he's enjoyed feeling a little more familiar with his surroundings this year, saying that the experience has been a fun one.
"I know a lot of the guys here," he said. "I've got some friends here, so it's definitely a good experience."
One fellow Flyers prospect that Bonk is particularly close with is, of course, Denver Barkey, who is also Bonk's teammate on the Knights.
"It's been weird not having him on the ice," Bonk admits, referencing Barkey being sidelined during camp as he recovers from mono. "But he's around the rink and we still talk to him a lot. I'm rooming with him and I'm with him all the time."
London Knights forward Denver Barkey and defenseman Oliver Bonk.
Back in London, Bonk enjoyed an immensely successful season, with his defensive skills becoming a crucial part of the Knights' fantastic postseason charge that ultimately ended with the team becoming OHL champions.
But it would be remiss to talk about how much the defenseman blossomed last season without mentioning the "Bumper Bonk" phenomenon, an oft-used nickname that stemmed from Bonk flourishing in the bumper role of the Knights' powerplay (a role that defensemen don't typically get assigned).
"They had Alec Regula in that position [before me]. I don't know how they got him in there, but they got him and he worked," Bonk explained about the thinking behind putting him in the bumper spot. "I wasn't really scoring coming into my second year—I hadn't scored in, like, 15 games during the start of the season, so they just kind of put me there to try and get me going and it just took off. Never looked back."
And even though it's entirely possible that he was referred to as "Bumper Bonk" more than he was "Oliver" last season, he's not sick of the moniker.
"You just kinda go with it, ride the wave, just have fun with it," he laughed. "It doesn't happen every day that you get put in good positions like that, so [I'm] thankful for it."
He's carried that fantastic play into the Flyers' development and rookie camps this summer, and there has been plenty of debate over whether or not he's ready to get some NHL minutes during the 2024-25 season (Bonk's contract allows him to play up to nine games at the top level).
Fans are confident that if any prospect is going to break into the Flyers' top roster, it'll be Bonk. He knows that people are going to speculate, but it's not something he pays any mind.
"You don't really look at what other people are saying," he said. "Everyone's gonna have a different opinion of what you should be doing this year, but at the end of the day, you're at the camp to make the team. That's gonna be my main objective."
Oliver Bonk and Matvei Michkov.
Megan DeRuchie-The Hockey News
This mature approach to his game has garnered a ton of respect from coaches toward the 19-year-old, who has gained a reputation as a young player eager to take every opportunity learn and improve during the Flyers' camps.
Lehigh Valley Phantoms head coach Ian Laperriere, who is also the bench boss for rookie camp, acknowledged that many young players are "shy" when it comes to asking coaches questions, but said that Bonk never has that problem.
Flyers Director of Player Development Riley Armstrong also had plenty of high praise for Bonk during development camp back in July.
"I think his confidence really shows out here," Armstrong said of Bonk's personality. "He looks like he's played pro hockey already in the way he handles himself in the locker room and out on the ice.
As for his on-ice skills, Armstrong added that "throughout the course of the year, he never put a teammate in a bad spot when he's breaking a puck out...I just believe he knows who he is as a player.
"He's so smart, covers for teammates well, breaks pucks out well, and he's rewarded with the offensive opportunity at the end of the day. We're definitely looking for big things from him coming into training camp this year."
Making the Flyers will be no easy feat, especially with there currently being very few gaps in the defensive core that Bonk could potentially come in and fill.
But something to note about Bonk is that he's probably one of the most self-aware 19-year-olds you'll ever meet. He knows what it will take to become a fully-fledged NHL player, and he's not too proud to admit that, as good as many people agree he is, the people in the organization who make the decisions might still need more from him.
"The NHL is the hardest league in the world," he acknowledged. "I can't say I'm confident I should be in that [NHL-level] pairing—maybe I'm not good enough yet, maybe I need development, but I think this camp is to test [me] and for the staff to decide if I'm ready or not."
Hunter McDonald and Oliver Bonk.
Megan DeRuchie-The Hockey News
Part of that development has involved staying local to the Philadelphia area this summer, where he's been able to train at the Flyers facilities and work out with players like fellow D-men Cam York and Jamie Drysdale
"Yeah, I saw them a lot in the summer," he said. "I've been working out here too so I was hanging around them a lot. They're all great guys, I love to be around them...it was a good summer. It was successful."
As summer winds down and Bonk begins to lock in on the upcoming season, his goals for this year are fairly simple: "Just be a more confident player, be the guy out there doing everything you can to help the [Knights] to have another winning season...[we were in] back-to-back finals, and we've seen a lot of stuff now. We've seen a lot of guys come through and [have had] a lot of good leaders, so we've gotta step up this year and set an example."
