Flyers activate Oliver Bonk from injured reserve, assign him to Lehigh Valley
Bonk, 20, is considered the Flyers' top defensive prospect and could make his AHL debut this weekend with the Phantoms.
Barkey. Bjarnason. Bump. … Bonk.
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms will add another highly touted B-named prospect to their ranks this week, as Oliver Bonk will join the team after missing the first 20 games of the season because of an upper-body injury. The Flyers activated the defenseman from injured reserve on Tuesday before assigning him directly to their American Hockey League club.
The news is a long time coming for the 20-year-old Bonk, who suffered the injury early in rookie camp and later missed all of training camp. The 2023 first-round pick is considered the Flyers’ top defensive prospect and has a chance to make his professional hockey debut this weekend for the Phantoms.
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Bonk has been rehabbing with the Flyers and has been skating with the team for the last couple of weeks. On Oct. 27, general manager Danny Brière provided an update on Bonk and said that things were “going well now” in terms of his rehab.
“We’re just hoping that there’s no setbacks,” Brière said. “We’re trying to give him the time and proper space between skates for him to feel good enough to come back and play. It’s a little tougher on a timeline with him. We’re kind of waiting on the progression and making sure there’s no setback on him.”
The Flyers have high hopes for Bonk, whom they selected with the 22nd pick in the same year they drafted Matvei Michkov at No. 7, and believe he can be a top-four NHL defenseman. A two-way blueliner with a game predicated on smarts and his ability to kill plays defensively through angles and good positioning, Bonk came in at No. 5 in The Inquirer’s annual Flyers prospect rankings.
Bonk was a key cog, alongside close friend Denver Barkey, with London over the last few years, leading the Knights to back-to-back Ontario Hockey League titles and the Memorial Cup crown last season. He was a first-team OHL All-Star in 2023-24 after scoring 24 goals and tallying 67 points in 60 games. Last season he was a second-team selection after posting 11 goals and 40 points in 52 games.
Carson Bjarnason and Alex Bonk are two more prospects on the Phantoms roster.
The next steps for Bonk, a steady Eddie who isn’t flashy but defends at a high level and largely keeps things simple, will be to continue to get stronger and learn to play with more pace and urgency.
“I think Bonk is going to adjust to the pace of the game in the American League,” Riley Armstrong, the Flyers’ director of player development, said in August. “I think he [and Barkey] played on a very good team in London, where you’re able to go back and break a puck out with ease, and play 30 minutes a night, and, you know, maybe not even break a sweat.
“I think that’s going to be a change for him, heading into this year where the pace is going to pick up. … Guys are going to forecheck a lot quicker and harder, finish checks on him. But I do think his brain is high-end … and I think he’s going to be able to adjust pretty quickly once you get him in that environment.”
That first pro test likely will come this weekend with Lehigh Valley.