Oliver Bonk is making no secret of what he wants next: a real job, not a cameo.
The Flyers defenseman got his first NHL regular-season taste last season, and after a year that was slowed by injuries, he now looks like a legitimate candidate to crack the roster. With Emil Andre gone in a trade and Noah Juulsen unsigned, the path has opened a little wider for the 21-year-old, who also appeared in the final regular-season game of the 2025-26 schedule and one playoff game.
Flyers assistant general manager Brent Flahr sounded bullish on Bonk after Development Camp wrapped Friday at the Flyers Training Center.
“I think he will challenge at camp (for a top-six starting spot),” Flahr said. “He may force his (general manager Daniel Briere’s) hand.
“The moment is never too big for him, just the way he plays the game. It doesn’t matter what level.
He came up at the end of last year (the final game, in which he registered a goal and an assist in a win over Montreal). That was a big game, it wasn’t like a waste game for Montreal (the Canadiens were still in the hunt for a top playoff spot).”
Bonk backed up the optimism with a solid year in Lehigh Valley, where he put up six goals and 19 points in 46 games for the Phantoms. Before that, he was part of back-to-back Memorial Cup teams with the OHL London Knights, and his combined plus-65 helped drive those runs.
Still, Flahr said there’s another level Bonk needs to reach physically.
“I think he still needs to get stronger,” Flahr said of the 6-foot-2, 192-pound backliner. “Which he’s working on.
He’s such a smart player that when he plays with NHL players, better players, he may just take off. We’ll see where that goes.”
Bonk isn’t acting like anything has been handed to him.
“It’s nice to hear,” Bonk said, “but they can say whatever. . .it’s all up to me. I felt like last year I could have made a push (but) I was hurt.
I’m doing everything I can to help this year. I’m going to make a push this year.”
If he does, someone with NHL experience will have to come out of the mix. For now, Simon Benoit looks like the favorite after arriving in the multi-player trade with Toronto last month.
Bonk, an Ottawa native and the son of former NHL star Radek Bonk, said his brief run in the league last April gave him a clear idea of what it takes to stick.
“I think it was all about building confidence,” was the 21-year-old Bonk’s takeaway from that game. “Just not throwing away pucks because you’re playing in your first NHL game and your first playoff game.
“You just have to be confident. Believe that you’re going to be there because you are there and realizing that I’m a good player and I should be there.”
He’s also still working on his skating, even though mobility is already one of his strengths. Bonk said speed helps him cover for defensive issues, but he knows the next step is sharpening everything around that.
“That and confidence with the puck, without the puck, conditioning,” he said. “It’s a big summer, I’m excited to get going again next season.”
The NHL jump also showed him how much faster everything moves.
“Obviously it’s a lot quicker game than what I saw the entire year,” he said. “There’s always quicker skaters. You just have to keep rolling.”
Elsewhere at camp, several players made noise in Friday’s 3-on-3 scrimmage, including first-round pick Maksim Sokolovskii, a towering defenseman, and right wing Noah Powell.
Second-year players Porter Martone, Alex Bump and Denver Barkey were not required to attend, but showed up anyway. Flahr said that choice mattered.
“Well, I think it’s huge,” Flahr said. “They like to play.
You could see the competitive juices come out. That’s why they’re here.
They (the other young players) watch whatever they do. They’re following Martone, Barkey, Bump.
It’s fun to watch.”
Flahr also praised Cole Knuble, the son of former Flyer Mike Knuble, saying his age and maturity stand out.
“He’s a little bit older (just turned 22). You can see his maturity. I don’t see his skating anymore as an issue.”
And he said defenseman Carter Amico, a 2024 second-round pick, has made a huge leap.
“From a year ago to now, I think he’s come a million miles,” Flahr said.
In Other News...
Flyers Add Another Mystery Forward With Something To Prove
The Flyers added another low-risk forward option to the mix, signing Nolan Foote to a one-year, two-way contract as they continue to sort through the edges of their roster. The deal gives Philadelphia a depth piece with a clear path to compete in training camp, and it comes with the kind of modest financial commitment teams often use when they want to see whether a player can earn a longer look.
Foote, who previously played in the Florida Panthers organization, will be paid at the league minimum of $850,000 in the NHL and $300,000 in the AHL. For the Flyers, the real question is whether he can push his way into the conversation for a roster spot or end up starting the season in Lehigh Valley, which is where these kinds of signings often begin to reveal their value. [Read more 🡒]
Flyers New Czech Goalie Addition Comes With One Surprising Twist
The Flyers added another intriguing name to their goaltending pipeline when they used a second-round pick on Martin Psohlavec, a Czech netminder who has already gotten a taste of the organization at Development Camp. The young goalie has plenty to like on paper, too, after turning in a strong run in the Czech Under-20 League and showing enough promise to be part of a prospect group that is starting to draw some attention in Philadelphia.
Psohlavec also arrives with a built-in connection that makes the fit a little more interesting. He said he is excited to be in the same system as fellow Czech goalies Dan Vladar and Marek Sklenicka, and he has singled out Vladar as a role model as he begins to map out his own path. For a Flyers team always looking to build depth in goal, the nationality link is a small but notable twist, and it adds another layer to watch as Psohlavec settles in and starts talking with the veterans who can help shape what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
Porter Martone Is Sending A Clear Message At Flyers Camp
Development camp is giving the Flyers a first real look at prospects in different stages of the pipeline, and Porter Martone is right in the middle of it. The young forward arrives with more recent NHL experience than most of the players around him, but his summer has still been a balancing act after a long season that stretched through international play and playoffs. He spent about a week and a half away from the gym after the World Championships before ramping back up, and this week marks his first time back on the ice after stopping play roughly three weeks ago.
The Flyers are easing him in with power-skating work and checking in on how he feels as camp goes on, which fits the broader point of this week: development is not always linear, even for a player already trying to push toward the next level. Martone has made it clear he wants to keep improving and put himself in position for the season ahead, and the way the Flyers handle his workload now should say plenty about where he stands in their plans. [Read more 🡒]