Photo Credit: The London Knights
Just a few months ago Oliver Bonk was living his best life, scoring goals in the OHL Playoffs and Finals. Now he’s at Developmental Camp, while hooning and showing off his skills for the Flyers top brass and coaches alike.
“He’s good, he’s a good player,” Flyers’ Development Coach Sam Morin said today. “He loves to be here.”
Oliver Bonk, a Right-Handed defenseman was still on the board in the first round with the Flyers on the clock to pick and they selected him with the 22nd overall pick. Moments before this selection the Flyers selected a prospect Matvei Michkov with superstar/generational potential. The selection of Bonk received mixed reactions from the Flyers proud faithful, where some project Bonk as a project, however in the same token, other fans projected Bonk as a top four defenseman.
The Flyers finally have drafted a solid skating defenseman. They needed a solid skating defenseman, and this was one way to do it. There were weeks of speculation over who the Flyers would take with the 22nd pick, in particular. Bonk has a ton of skill that can stifle players at the Blue line, and lead the Flyers of the ice the other way. He is a good skating Defenseman, and these type of Defensemen don’t come along very often.
Bonk is an asset with the man advantage, and from the heavens maybe, just maybe, he can be an influential asset in this area when he makes his NHL Debut in Philadelphia in the future. He has really had a great playoffs, and has been even better with his gap control than in the regular season. Bonk finished the OHL Playoffs and Finals with seven goals and nine assists in 18 games played in the playoffs, but he was a whopping +14. I mean it can’t get any better than that.
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As mentioned previously, he is a solid skater, like most prospects he can improve upon this area, but he has a great pair of hands too. Bonk stands at 6’2, and weighs 176 pounds. He is a very confident and skilled puck handler, who effectively transitions the puck out of his zone and into his opponent’s zone. Bonk is an able bodied playmaker who excels at finding and creating passing lanes, mainly due to his edge work. He plays a physical game, as Bonk shuts down his opponents by taking the body, and board battling. For his efforts, it comes as no surprise he has had a great Developmental Camp.
