Bonk focused on all-around game ahead of 2023 NHL Draft

The 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft will be held June 28-29 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. The first round will be June 28 (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS) and rounds 2-7 are June 29 (11 a.m. ET; NHLN, SN, TVAS). NHL.com is counting down to the draft with in-depth profiles on top prospects, podcasts and other features. Today, a look at defenseman Oliver Bonk with London of the Ontario Hockey League. NHL.com's full draft coverage can be found here.

Oliver Bonk realizes playing defense for London of the Ontario Hockey League has its privileges.

"My dad talks to me a lot about what forwards don't really like and he was an NHL forward so that's a pretty good source," Bonk said of his father, former NHL center Radek Bonk.

And what don't NHL forwards like?

"Cross checks to the head ... they hate it," Oliver Bonk said jokingly.

The elder Bonk was selected No. 3 by the Ottawa Senators in the 1994 NHL Draft and played 969 NHL games spanning 14 seasons with the Senators, Montreal Canadiens and Nashville Predators.

Oliver began his career as a forward but moved to defense out of necessity while playing in the Czech Republic when his father was with Trinec in the top Czech professional league. Oliver was 10 years old at the time.

"I always took pride in my defense so when I coached him, I told him it doesn't matter how good you are, when you get to your own zone, you got to know how to play defense because the better you are defensively, the more time you have on offense," Radek Bonk said. "I always told him, 'You're a defenseman first, so think of your own end first. Then you'll have more chances on offense.'"

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Oliver, who was born in Ottawa, had several stops during his playing career, based on where Radek was at the time.

"I became a defenseman because back when I was in Czech, we had a team of players who couldn't really skate backwards very well," he said. "I was always a gifted backwards skater, so I started playing the position and it just stuck with me from that point."

Said Radek: "He's good defensively, wins battles, his first pass is good ... it's those little things I think people look for. Not everybody's going to be Cale Makar, going end to end, highlight goals every week. I don't think it's him. It's just doing a lot of things well over the course of the game."

Oliver was chosen in the second round (No. 26) by London in the 2021 OHL draft.

He began the 2021-22 seaon with St. Thomas of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League and had 32 points (five goals, 27 assists) in 32 games, before getting his shot with London later that season.

"I was playing 25-plus minutes a game (with St. Thomas)," Oliver said. "I hopped right into the first defense pairing, first power-play unit, first penalty kill, so it was good to kind of learn the ropes. I learned how you need to act when you're playing big minutes, how you need to recover. Playing those minutes got me ready for the OHL."

Bonk (6-1, 180), No. 20 on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters presented by BioSteel, ranked second among rookie defensemen in the Ontario Hockey League with 40 points (10 goals, 30 assists) and was first with 17 power-play points (15 assists) and four short-handed points (three assists) in 67 games.

"One of the things I've learned as a scout is that players that end up having success at the next level usually have a draft year where they really grow and understand the game better," Central Scouting director David Gregory said. "Oliver is a player who obviously has the lineage, but he's gotten so much better as the years have progressed. His trajectory has been straight up; no inconsistencies in his game. And he's gained more confidence playing with the puck.

"It gives you confidence that's going to continue when he gets to the next level."

Bonk is the fourth-highest OHL player ranked by Central Scouting.

"Something I've always taken pride in is making sure no one gets by me," Bonk said. "I think that's a big part of my game. When offense isn't going very good, I just go back to lockdown-mode defense. When I'm playing my best I'm helping out on offense, jumping in the rush and playing a good transition game."

Bonk opened some eyes at the 2023 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game on Jan. 26 when he had a game-long, trash-talking session with Regina center Connor Bedard, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft.

It came to a head late in the game when Bedard took a penalty for cross-checking Bonk at 16:30 of the third period. Bonk said the back-and-forth wasn't anything malicious, more about the respect for Bedard's ability to take over a game.

"He's the best [2005-born player] in the world," Bonk said. "It was good to get him off the ice for two minutes for our guys."

Bonk said learning under the tutelage of London coach and former NHL forward Dale Hunter has been beneficial.

"Defensively we've talked a lot about stick positioning," Bonk said. "A lot of small little details that you have to tweak; that's probably the biggest thing he's brought into my game."

LNH.com staff writer Guillaume Lepage contributed to this report

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