Bonk signs 3-year, entry-level contract with Flyers

Oliver Bonk signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday.

The 18-year-old defenseman, the son of former NHL forward Radek Bonk, was selected by the Flyers with the No. 22 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.

Oliver Bonk (6-foot-2, 180 pounds) had 40 points (10 goals, 30 assists) in 67 games for London of the Ontario Hockey League, and 11 assists in 21 OHL playoff games last season.

He is expected to return to the OHL this season to improve his strength and overall game.

"I think it's just getting bigger," Bonk said during Flyers development camp last month.

"You can't control your height but you can control how you eat and how you train. I think filling out my frame a bit more, getting stronger. I think that's going to help with the skating and your shot, working on upper body, lower body. I think just getting stronger."

The younger Bonk got some attention for attending the draft with a mullet hairstyle similar to the one his father had when he was selected by the Ottawa Senators with the No. 3 pick in the 1994 NHL Draft. The elder Bonk had 497 points (194 goals, 303 assists) in 969 games through 14 NHL seasons with the Senators, Montreal Canadiens and Nashville Predators.

Oliver Bonk got the haircut in May, prior to the NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo, and surprised his father when he returned home afterward.

"I came back home and he was like, 'Oh my God, what do you do?'" the younger Bonk said. "And then he was happy about it."