What are the Flyers getting in Oliver Bonk? We watched a game with his dad, Radek

LONDON, Ont. — Radek Bonk and his wife, Jill, are sitting in section 103 at a roaring, packed Budweiser Gardens, decked out in London Knights gear. Radek is wearing a black T-shirt with the “Spider Knight” logo and a classic black Knights ball cap. Jill is sporting a black Knights hoodie and a black Knights ball cap as well, only hers is marked with “59” on one side for their son, Knights defenseman Oliver Bonk, who is hoping to cap off his NHL draft year with an OHL championship en route to a possible Memorial Cup.

The two of them have made the nearly six-hour trip from Ottawa to catch Oliver in Game 5 of the OHL Championship Series against the Peterborough Petes. Down 3-1, it’s do or die for the Knights.

Admittedly, Radek is nervous for this one.

“You know what? I’ve caught myself being nervous, especially during the playoffs now,” said Radek, who’s been making trips back and forth between London, Peterborough and Ottawa. “You get a little bit nervous when you play and it’s a big game, but nothing like this.”

Of course, with 13 NHL seasons and 939 regular-season NHL games between three NHL clubs on his resume, he knows a thing or two about nerves before a game.

Except this time he’s a fan, watching his son play in the most important game of his life, just over a month away from hopefully hearing his name called by an NHL club.

So yes, tonight he’s nervous, but he’s mostly excited. And proud, as always.

“You just want your kids to succeed. You just want them to do well,” Radek said. “Today on the drive here, you know, you’re smiling the whole game because you get to see him tonight, and all of them playing.”

The first period draws to a close and it’s 1-1. Bonk has a secondary assist on the tying goal from fellow 2023 NHL Draft-eligible Easton Cowan.

“That was a huge goal,” Radek said when asked about the opening period. “You know what? We had a bunch of chances to score and it seemed like it was going to be one of those days where nothing goes in. But Easton Cowan had a perfect moment of the period, you know, just to tie it up. I’m hoping they’re going to come out flying.”

Radek Bonk and his wife, Jill, at Budweiser Gardens for Game 5 of the OHL Championship Series. (Sarah Jean Maher / The Athletic)

When asked to paint a picture of Bonk’s game, there’s a particular sequence of plays that comes to mind for Knights assistant coach Rick Steadman.

It’s late in the game and the Knights, up by one goal, are on a big penalty kill. The opposing team skates in and dumps the puck in with three guys forechecking. Instead of roaming around or throwing the puck away, Bonk creates a battle, takes a couple of hits and makes a backhand center outlet between his legs from the boards.

“To be that young and that calm and confident in your ability to make that elite play (is) outstanding,” said Steadman, who oversees the Knights power play.

Bonk is a puck-moving defenseman who can move up the ice quickly and make good decisions. He doesn’t try to do too much, and knows when to jump in the play. The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler describes him as a “pro-built defenseman who plays a firm game, possesses good overall skill, has solid edgework and directional changes, and escapes pressure well.”

“He reads when to jump in and isn’t just road-racing up and down the ice,” Steadman said. “He’s going to be one of those two-way defensemen that’s going to give you points and that can also shut down top guys.”

A 2021 second-round draftee of the Knights, Bonk suited up for only 10 regular-season games and all seven games of London’s first-round series with the Kitchener Rangers in last year’s playoffs. Most of his 16-year-old season was spent in Junior B with the St. Thomas Stars, where he played 25 to 30 minutes a night in all situations and performed at a point-per-game clip.

But he arrived back in London the following summer ready to make an impression, and finished out the season as one of the team’s most important defensemen, playing big minutes in a top-four role over the course of a long playoff run. In his 67-game rookie campaign, Bonk put up an impressive offensive output (10 goals, 30 assists).

Those offensive smarts are something Bonk likes to think he learned from his dad.

“Just seeing how he reacted, the play, seeing how he read the play — I think I got that from him and I own that. And I think that’s my biggest quality right now is hockey IQ and thinking the play. So I definitely got that from him,” Oliver said of his dad’s influence.

Radek, born in Krnov, Czechoslovakia, was drafted by the Ottawa Senators with the No. 3 pick of the 1994 NHL Draft and played 10 seasons for the club before two seasons apiece with the Montreal Canadiens and Nashville Predators (and a stop back in Czech Republic for the 2004-05 lockout season). Following what would be his final NHL season in Nashville in 2008-09, he signed a KHL deal for the following season but opted to return to the Czech league after seven games, where he finished out his career before hanging up the skates in 2014.

Today, he coaches the Kanata Rangers, his daughter Kennedy’s team, and the Kanata Blazers where his son Cameron plays.

“I was a defensive forward, I can give him a lot because I made my career on, you know, shutting down people. I think I was pretty good at it,” Radek said. “I always told him you want to be, you know, a both-way defenseman. But at the end of the day, you’re a defenseman, so take care of your back end first and then if there’s a room or a chance to go up, you go out, but the defensive side is very important.”

Bonk, who was born in 2005 in Ottawa, has fond memories of watching his dad’s games as a young child. One of his favourite memories was watching him win a championship with HC Oceláři Třinec in the Czech Extraliga in 2011 and getting to go on the ice with him afterward.

Now, all these years later, it’s Radek cheering on Oliver from the stands.

“It’s great just having him in the stands, seeing him after the game,” said Oliver. “It just warms my heart to see that he’s watching me, you know, instead of me watching him. It’s really cool.”

The Knights only visit the Ottawa 67’s once a year because the teams are in opposite conferences. Because the Bonks have three other children and are often attending hockey tournaments on weekends, driving to games from Ottawa on a regular basis isn’t easy.

But if he can’t make it in person, Radek is watching the games online, either live or later that night. He hasn’t missed a game this season.

Oliver and Radek will often talk on the phone after games, sometimes watching video clips together and going through plays.

“We really understand the game the same way, so it really helps me kind of correct my mistakes, see where I can do better,” said Oliver. “It’s good to have someone who knows hockey to talk about it.”

But as much as Radek is there to help with pointers, he also doesn’t want to overstep and prefers to leave most of the coaching to Dale Hunter, Steadman and the rest of the coaching staff in London.

“I don’t want to be calling him after every game, he should do this, he should do that right,” said Radek. “He’s got the good people around him I totally trust.”

If you ask both Oliver and Radek, the Knights, headed by coach Hunter and general manager Mark Hunter, with its extensive list of noteworthy player alumni and winning track record, have been an ideal team for Oliver to develop with.

“The history of this club speaks for itself, right? They’ve been developing players and helping players to play in the next level. And not just the NHL, all the way out of pro, you know, for a long time,” said Radek. “When (Oliver) got drafted here, it was an easy decision to come here because, like I said, they’ve been doing it for a long time and this was probably the most successful junior team in the country.”

Oliver credits the Hunters’ system and guidance for what he thinks has best set him up for future success at the pro level, having had the opportunity to play in high-stress situations as a 17-year-old with a supportive blue line and group of teammates that have helped him grow into a great penalty killer.

“It’s not very often you see a 17-year-old play that many minutes, that many important minutes, and go that far in the playoffs,” said Steadman. “Usually when you have younger guys on your team, they just can’t push quite that early. They don’t have the experience yet. They just haven’t done it. But he learned all year — credit to the D culture (for) helping him learn all year and just growing … He did a really, really, really good job, especially as a 17-year-old.”

Fixated on the ice with minutes remaining in Game 5, Radek jumps to his feet when Ethan MacKinnon has a breakaway, fist pumps when Knights goaltender Owen Willemore makes a big save and lets out a “woo!” when Logan Mailloux hits the open net for a final 4-1 win. He high-fives with Jill as she dances in her seat to “Chelsea Dagger.” After the final buzzer sounds, the players in green salute the crowd, and Radek and Jill are on their feet, clapping and waving. The Knights live another day.

“They played a perfect game. It’s good to support the Knights,” Radek said with a big smile when asked about the team’s performance as he heads down the steps and toward ice level.

Radek and Jill wave to the ice following the Knights’ 4-1 Game 5 win. (Sarah Jean Maher / The Athletic)

Bonk’s season ultimately ends in Game 6 the following Sunday with the Petes claiming the OHL title. He finishes the postseason with 11 assists in 21 games.

From there, his sights have turned to the upcoming NHL Draft in Nashville.

Bonk is among the highest-ranked defensemen of this year’s draft class. The Athletic’s Corey Pronman ranked Bonk at No. 26 on his list of the top 142 prospects, Wheeler has him ranked No. 44 on his list of 100 prospects and NHL Central Scouting has him at No. 20 on their final ranking of North American skaters.

Having his dad, who of course went through the process as a top-three draft pick, to talk with along the way has been helpful, especially in reminding Oliver to not get too caught up in rankings or projections and to just focus on his game.

“He’s playing OHL now, but, you know, obviously his goal is NHL. And I still tell him getting drafted, it’s kind of just the easiest part, right? I don’t want to say easy, but easiest part,” Radek said. “I said, ‘You don’t want to get drafted to the NHL, you want to play in the NHL.’ And that’s totally different, right? Because a lot of kids don’t get the chance even though they were drafted. So I’m just trying to lead him a little bit. But he’s a very smart kid and he can figure it out by himself.”

When Oliver returns to the London blue line next season — presumably on an NHL team’s radar — Steadman expects he’ll work his way on the first power play and will be playing closer to 28 minutes instead of the 24-25 he typically clocked in this past year. He already sees great leadership qualities in Oliver, and expects he’ll improve on his skating when his legs get a little stronger, something he’ll work on in the summer. He already has a shot that gets to the net, but with a little more power, he stands to achieve higher numbers on the scoresheet.

“He’s just one of those guys that I think every team is looking for,” said Steadman.

And when the time comes for Oliver to eventually lace up at the pro level, Radek will happily be there to help out when needed. But he’s also confident Oliver can figure things out a lot on his own.

Mostly, he’s looking forward to continuing to be a fan.

“The way they do it now is a little bit different than they did back in my day. But, you know, just talking about it a little bit, I think he’s always a smart kid who knows what to expect,” Radek said, swelling up with pride again. “He’s a great kid. Hockey is one thing I’m proud of in there. But the way he handles himself, which is important with hockey altogether, I’m a big fan of his.”

(Top photo of Oliver Bonk: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)