Flyers prospects Oliver Bonk and Hunter McDonald to make their NHL debuts in season finale

With one more game to play after wrapping up the team’s first playoff spot since 2020 in dramatic fashion on Monday night, the Flyers will close out the 2025-26 season with a special double rookie lap.

Defensemen Oliver Bonk and Hunter McDonald will make their NHL debuts on Tuesday when the Flyers host the Montreal Canadiens (7 p.m., NBCSP). They were brought up on an emergency recall basis on Tuesday from Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League alongside forwards Anthony Richard and Jacob Gaucher, and goalie Aleksei Kolosov, with the expectation that the Flyers will give some of the regulars a much-deserved night off.

» READ MORE: Q&A: Flyers prospect Oliver Bonk discusses his injury, introduction to pro hockey, and more

Drafted in the first round of the 2023 NHL draft, Bonk is a highly-touted defensive prospect who turned pro this season after helping London of the Ontario Hockey League win the 2025 Memorial Cup. The 21-year-old’s first pro season didn’t start until December, after he suffered an injury during rookie camp that kept him on the shelf for months. But in 44 games with the Phantoms, he’s posted six goals and 19 points.

“Yeah, it was a tough first 10 games, until I started kind of feeling like fully myself again,” Bonk told The Inquirer in late February when he was called up to practice during the Olympic break.

“So it was definitely a learning curve there. But I think now, I’m kind of back to the way I want to play, and just improving my game every day and feeling good about myself. So it was tough at the start, but I think I’m on a good path right now.”

Bonk’s debut will come 17 years almost to the day that his father, Radek Bonk, hung up his skates after a 14-year NHL career.

McDonald, who will join Bonk on the Flyers’ first double rookie lap since Matvei Michkov and Jett Luchanko made their debuts together at the start of last season, is a hulking 6-foot-4, 238-pound defenseman drafted in the sixth round in 2022.

The Fairport, N.Y., native was recalled in January for the Flyers’ three-game swing through Colorado, Las Vegas, and Utah, with Rasmus Ristolainen on the shelf, but did not suit up. Described as a “throwback” to the Broad Street Bullies by Jerry Keefe, his coach at Northeastern, the 23-year-old has six assists and 88 penalty minutes in 62 games this season with the Phantoms. While he said in January that he had been working at not getting sent to the penalty box as often, he say he’s still a physical blueliner.

“I think a bit. Kind of, hitting people,” McDonald said with a chuckle when asked if he considered himself a “throwback” in November. “I want to get a stick on you, ending plays. I think that’s a super important part of the game. If I can end these plays in the D zone, be a pain to play against, and then we can go play offense.”

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Richard, 29, has not been recalled this season, but made a splash last season when he showed off his speed and skill by potting two goals and six points across his first seven-game stint. A veteran of 39 NHL games, the Quebec native is second on the Phantoms with 44 points (18 goals, 26 assists) in 63 games and will suit up with fellow French-Canadian, Gaucher, who is right behind him with 20 goals and 36 points in 66 contests. A center, Gaucher played in three Flyers games this season and has seven NHL games under his belt, although he is still looking for his first NHL point.

Kolosov played in four games this season, with his last appearance coming in January when he allowed three goals on three shots to the New York Rangers. Across 37 games in Lehigh Valley, he is 15-20-2 with a 2.88 goals-against average and .898 save percentage.

The Flyers announced their annual team awards on Tuesday.

Dan Vladař was named the winner of the Bobby Clarke Trophy, given to the team’s most valuable player as selected by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. He went 29-14-7 this season, posting the third-best goals-against average among netminders with at least 30 games, and helped to steady a position that has been, well, unsteady, for years in Philly. The Czech goalie was also awarded the Yanick Dupré (Class Guy) Memorial Award, which is presented annually to the Flyer who best illustrates character, dignity, and respect for the sport both on and off the ice by the Philadelphia chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association.

Travis Sanheim was named the Flyers’ most outstanding defenseman by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. It is the third straight year and fourth time in his career that he has been awarded the Barry Ashbee Trophy. He led the team in ice time, averaging just over 24 minutes a night, and topped defensemen with a plus-12 rating and 37 points, including a career-high 11 goals. Sanheim was also selected as the winner of the Gene Hart Memorial Award. Handed out by the Philadelphia Flyers Fan Club, it is given to a player who demonstrated the most “heart” during the season.

Jamie Drysdale was named the recipient of the Pelle Lindbergh Memorial Trophy as the team’s most improved player from last season by his teammates. Drysdale transformed his game at both ends of the ice this season, posting a career high in goals (eight), tying his career high in points (32), which was set back in his first full NHL season in 2021-22 with the Anaheim Ducks, and saw his plus-minus go from minus-32 to minus-3 while averaging almost two more minutes a game.

Named the Flyers nominee for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, Garnet Hathaway has also been awarded the Flyers Alumni Community Leadership Award. Handed out by the alumni association, it is given to the Flyer who best demonstrates outstanding leadership, both on and off the ice, as well as a significant contribution to the community.

Trevor Zegras accumulated the most points by being named a “Star of the Game” and was awarded the Toyota Cup Award, which comes with a donation to the charity of his choosing. He was selected as the first star eight times, the second star five times, and the third star in three games.