Flyers’ Oliver Bonk to be featured in TV show that takes fans behind the scenes of the NHL draft

If you didn’t get enough of Oliver Bonk through the NHL draft or Flyers development camp, there’s more coming Friday when the NHL’s Welcome to the NHL show premiers at 5 p.m. on ESPN+.

NHL Productions followed Bonk and six other top prospects, from the moment they arrived on the red carpet in Nashville to when they heard their names called at the 2023 NHL draft. For Bonk, that came when the Flyers called his name with the No. 22 overall pick.

Bonk was the Flyers’ second pick of the draft behind Matvei Michkov, whom they selected at No. 7. He was the only one of the team’s three first-round picks from the last two years to attend development camp. The defenseman, who scored 10 goals and 40 points last season for the London Knights, said he was taking the lessons he learned from the coaches and older players back to the OHL next season. He also enjoyed getting to interact with Flyers fans during the week.

The show also followed Connor Bedard (No. 1 overall, Chicago Blackhawks), Adam Fantilli (No. 3, Columbus Blue Jackets), Will Smith (No. 4, San Jose Sharks), Oliver Moore (No. 19, Chicago Blackhawks), Carey Terrance (No. 59, Anaheim Ducks), and Jacob Fowler (No. 69, Montreal Canadiens).

The prospects’ and their families’ reactions and emotions are caught on camera leading up to and following the moment each is drafted.

The show will be telecast again Friday at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. on NHL Network. The episode will be shown again on NHL Network on Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at 8 a.m.

For fans in Canada, the show will premier on July 22 at 7 p.m. on SportsNet One as well as on Sunday at 1 p.m.

» READ MORE: Development camp takeaways: Emil Andrae, Bobby Brink make their cases