With the 22nd pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, the Flyers took 6’2″ right-handed defenseman Oliver Bonk:

Radek Bonk’s son. Remember him? RADEK BONK. Hadn’t heard that name in years, probably because it was purged from memory after what his Senators did to Philly now 20 years ago. Talk about triggering hockey PTSD. Bonk was on those two Ottawa teams that beat the Flyers in consecutive playoff years.

If you were alive back then, you might remember that in 2002, the Flyers went into the postseason as the #2 seed and proceeded to get absolutely smoked. They won game one by a 1-0 scoreline, then lost four in a row while scoring one stupid goal in the process. It was terrible. They lost 3-0, three times in a row, then dropped game five by a 2-1 scoreline in overtime.

In that series, Radek Bonk scored a game-winning goal and led Ottawa with four assists, averaging 18 minutes of ice time as the top-line center. It was also during this series that Flyers fans learned to hate Zdeno Chara, who was 25 years old at the time and would go on to play another bazillion years in the NHL.

Then, in 2003, same thing but with the seeding flipped. The Flyers went in as a four seed, knocked off Toronto in the first round, then went down 4-2 to a Senators team that won 52 games and hammered the Islanders in the first round. The Philly/Ottawa series was actually tied 2-2 after four games, with a pair of Flyers shutouts in games two and four, then the defense and goaltending fell apart in games five and six as the Flyers lost 5-2 and 5-1. Bonk had three assists and a goal but that series was all about Marian Hossa, who had a coming out party that season.


But yeah, Oliver Bonk’s dad was pretty good. He topped 50 points in four straight seasons for Ottawa and played more than 900 NHL games. Hopefully some of that pedigree made it to his son, who will help the Flyers avenge those putrid losses from 20 years ago.