Oliver Bonk (the 21-year-old right-shot Defenseman (drafted 22nd overall in 2023) made his NHL Debut in the regular-season finale on April 14 vs. Montreal. He scored his first career goal (a nice wrist shot off a Michkov feed) and picked up two points in that game.
The Flyers are down 3-0 to the Hurricanes in the second round, with Game 4 tonight in Philly. With nothing left to lose in a likely elimination game, inserting a young guy like Bonk (or others like David Jiricek/Jett Luchanko) for a look—especially on the power play, where his shot and junior pedigree could help—makes sense to many fans.
Bonk’s been a black ace/call-up option and was discussed earlier in the playoffs. He’s very good on the Power Play, and that’s been the Flyers achilles heel for the past few years. A move like inserting him into the lineup for a pivotal game 4 only makes sense. Look for him to be in the lineup tonight.
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