Farm Report Three Stars: Bumper Bonk Strikes Again

In last week's Farm Report, we looked at three wingers who had big performances over the prior seven days. This week, here are three defensemen who had standout moments in their most recent games. Stats are accurate through games played on November 25.

First Star: Oliver Bonk (D, London Knights, OHL) -- The defending Ontario Hockey League champions have remained scorching hot over the past week, running their current winning streak to 15 straight games. Flyers 2023 first-round pick Bonk logged his customary all-situation ice time in Sunday's 2-1 shootout win over Ottawa. He was unable to convert a shootout attempt, however.

The 13th win of the Knights streak would not have come about if not for back-to-back tallies late in the third period by Kasper Halttunen and Bonk to force overtime and an eventual five-round shootout. Bonk netted the tying goal with 43.2 second remaining in regulation. His shot from the right slot pinballed off two Owen Sound Attack defenders and found the mark.

For the season, Bonk has five goals, 12 assists, 17 points and a plus-12 rating in 19 games played to date. He assisted on Bonk's tying goal against Owen Sound amid a two-point effort. In the next game, a 6-5 road win over the Saginaw Spirit, Barkey scored his third goal of the season.

Second Star: Hunter McDonald (D, Phantoms, AHL) -- It's been a streaky season so far for Ian Laperriere's Lehigh Valley Phantoms. After rattling off of a seven-game point streak including three straight wins, the Phantoms are winless in their last four games. Even amid the recent rough patch, physical defensive defenseman Hunter McDonald has stood out with his willingness to take the body and block shots.

Through 16 games to date, McDonald (1g, 6a, 7 points, 33 penalty minutes) leads the Phantoms with a traditional plus-nine rating. At present, only five current Lehigh Valley roster players are on the positive side of the ledger. Veteran defenseman Louie Belpedio is +4, followed by forwards Anthony Richard (four goals, five assists, +3 in seven games), Oskar Eklind (four goals, eight points, +1 in 16 games) and veteran captain Garrett Wilson (+1).

After getting swept by the Providence Bruins last Friday (3-0) and Saturday (2-1 in overtime), the Phantoms return to action on Wednesday against the Hartford Wolf Pack.

Third Star: Ethan Samson (D, Phantoms, AHL) -- The offensive-minded second-season pro has dressed in all 16 games the Phantoms have played to date. On the power play, he talled the Phantoms' lone goal on Saturday against Providence. Samson has scored a goal in two of the last three games.

For the season overall, Samson has posted six points (3g, 3a). Moving forward, he'll look to improve upon his traditional -11 plus/minus rating. Adam Ginning is -10 to date.

Last Week's Three Stars: Updates

Denver Barkey (LW, London Knights) -- Barkey was sidelined for the 15th win of London's current streak. He's played 18 games to date, compiling 22 points (three goals, 19 assists,+13).

Noah Powell (W, Ohio State, NCAA) -- The Buckeyes were idle this past week after sweeping two games against Lindenwood last weekend to improve to 9-2-1 on the season. Powell, who scored his first college goal last week, has three points thus far in his freshman campaign.

Alex Bump (LW, Western Michigan, NCAA) -- The Broncos are 8-1-1 overall after beating Minnesota Duluth in back-to-back road games last Friday (5-2) and Saturday (4-1). Bump, who has eight points (3g, 5a) in 10 games played this season, did not add to his point totals this past weekend. This weekend, Western Michigan will play a home-and-home against rival Michigan.