Oliver Bonk
2023 Draft Eligible
Position: RD Shoots: R
H/W: 6’1”, 176
Date of Birth: 2005-01-09
Despite jumping into a deep London Knights defense core as a rookie this season, Oliver Bonk has established himself as a top four defender in the Ontario Hockey League. As the 26th overall pick in the 2021 OHL Draft, Bonk went to play Junior B hockey for the St. Thomas Stars in the 2021-2022 season. This additional season of playing at a lower level of competition seemed to propel him into a top four role with London this season. He finished the 2022-2023 regular season with 10 goals and 40 points for the Knights in 67 games. Through those 67 games, Bonk played alongside just about every other Knights defender. He has been a quarterback, and a net front presence on the man advantage, and he has grown into top penalty killing minutes. In October, Bonk actually appeared as one of the more immature rookies, and now he is probably one of the most mature defenders in the OHL draft class.
The vast improvement over the course of the season has been the story with Bonk. He began the season as a defensive liability who would often position himself like a winger in his own zone. He was taking many risks and getting out of position frequently, and his lack of quickness would not allow him to get back into position in time. These were alarming concerns that kept him way down on many draft lists in the first part of the season. But as the season progressed and Bonk was forced into penalty kill minutes and tough situations defensively, he began to settle into his own.
Bonk has begun to use his tools to his advantage defensively, including his precise stick positioning, lengthy reach, and physical knack. Bonk’s player narrative has formed into a defender who can play in a variety of defensive situations and exit the puck out of the zone efficiently. He sticks to the safe play and values his defensive zone game much more. Though, as a result of these adjustments, his risk-taking and creativity have almost vanished. Bonk is trying to find that middle ground with his decision making, but he is limited to what his skating allows him to do.
There’s no question that Bonk’s passing ability and full-ice vision will translate to the next level. He has a smart first pass, in which he can usually send a teammate right into the attacking zone. His lack of quick feet in transition is the main concern for Bonk right now. The other question with Bonk is how he is going to separate himself from the other defenders in this year’s OHL draft crop. Currently, he has a safe projection as a top four defender who can handle penalty killing minutes, tough matchups, and make a difference physically.
Skating
Oliver Bonk’s skating has been categorized as the physical element that is holding him back. A big reason why his risk-taking game was not successful at the beginning of the season was because his lack of speed wouldn’t allow him to get back into position quickly enough. His skating still puts many limitations on his game, but as a big, physical, lock down defender, it is difficult to expect him to be the quickest skater on the ice. However, if Bonk’s skating is something that he can improve on, it will unlock more of his offensive game.
This is something that we see often; Bonk carrying the puck out of the zone slowly, assessing all of his options. He is very light on his feet and his crossovers almost propel him upwards, rather than powering him forward. Though, his straight-line skating mechanics are very smooth and there is no choppiness or rush in his stride.
This is a clip that exemplifies Bonk’s lack of a quick first step quite well. Bonk and the attacker start at similar distances away from the puck, I would even say Bonk is a tad closer. From here, he is unable to make a quick turn and accelerate past the attacker. First, he tries to attack from the outside. If he begins attacking from the inside, he ends in a much better position defensively and the attacker likely isn’t able to cross the front of the net.
This is a slightly awkward clip of Bonk attempting to walk back along the blueline. He almost stops completely when receiving the pass and he is never really able to gain that momentum back. The choppy crossovers allow the defender to quickly close on him and at that point, Bonk is forced to shoot. This awkwardness in his first couple steps is something we see often in his game.
Here is where Bonk’s smarts almost make him an efficient skater. His skating patterns in this clip allow him to enter the zone with possession, and with speed. Getting his first couple of steps out of the way before regaining the puck allows him to accelerate into the zone. Utilizing his teammates makes him a much better transition player as well.
Grade: 50
Shot
With ten goals in the regular season, Bonk has the ability to get himself into scoring areas frequently. He doesn’t have the most dangerous release, but he is able to get the puck to the net often. His shots tend to hit the goalie in the crest, but he has the ability to get his shot off quickly with incoming pressure. The concern with Bonk’s shooting ability is that he tends to make some poor shot selections, whether that means shooting from a low percentage area, or rushing the shot. When looking at his actual shooting mechanics, he puts a great amount of emphasis on kicking out his bottom hand. He also ensures he begins the shot while cradling the puck and loading up power into his bottom hand. You will rarely see Bonk shooting anything into the top half of the net, unless he is shooting from in tight.
Bonk really puts emphasis into kicking out his bottom hand on this shot as he is aiming to generate a rebound off of the far pad, which is exactly what happens.
Bonk receives this puck and knows immediately that he is going to shoot it. The issue with this play is that he’s shooting from a low percentage area and he has open teammates lower in the zone.
Here is a clip where he holds onto the puck and unloads power from his bottom hand into his shot. He recognizes that the defender is covering the passing lane and then decides he is going to shoot the puck himself.
Here’s a play that combines Bonk’s hockey smarts and long, but powerful release. He is able to sneak behind the defense and find himself wide open in the slot. He is able to read and react to a beautiful pass and absolutely rocket a wrist shot past the goaltender.
Bonk has poor shot selection on this play, as this is a weak shot from the wing. He ends up getting a lucky bounce as his teammate is able to grab the rebound, but generally I’d like to see Bonk get himself into a better shooting area or shoot it hard at the goalie’s far pad.
Another play where he shows poor shot selection. He hesitates slightly as he is powering down on this slapshot and it ends up being an easy shot to handle for the goaltender.
Grade: 50
Skills
Two elements that make Bonk’s game so effective is his patience with the puck and ability to utilize his teammates. He is the player that you want to begin the breakout, he asserts a feeling of calmness and is able to settle his team down when they may be under pressure. He doesn’t force his first pass and he usually opts for a longer distance pass in order to send his team into the offensive zone. There are flashes of high-end puck skills when Bonk has the opportunity to jump up and create offensively, but they are not shown often. Most of his skill is displayed through his passing and ability to find teammates through immense traffic.
Here is one of those flashes of high-end puck skill. The patience that Bonk uses in this play is extremely impressive. The use of a fake shot before sliding to the backhand is not the type of move that you would see often from him either, but this shootout goal shows what he can do with a bit of time.
This play exemplifies Bonk’s ability to coordinate a breakout very well. Beginning with a short pass to a player regrouping with speed, and then sending a long cross ice pass to create an entry into the zone. Bonk can make a variety of passes, and each of these passes are made with accuracy for easy reception.
This might be Bonk’s best defensive stick play of the season. He is very aggressive when the other team is entering the zone, as he comes out above the blueline to force the opponent to dodge his active stick. When Bonk turns around, he is able to quickly close on the attacker at the blue line and poke away a puck that the opponent loses for a split second. He has a very precise defensive stick, and he is usually able to poke check successfully on the first attempt.
This is a soft touch pass that Bonk makes look quite easy, but he has great precision to deflect the pass perfectly to a wide-open teammate down low.
This is a crafty saucer pass that Bonk is able to get over the defender's stick, yet it lands perfectly onto his teammate’s stick.
Grade: 55
Smarts
Bonk’s greatest strength is undoubtedly the way he is able to read the game and make the right plays. He is so impactful in the defensive zone because of his reads and awareness of shooting/passing lanes. He keeps a very tight gap and rarely lets opponents go through him. His defensive stick is likely his greatest defensive asset and he is able to eliminate plays often off of the entry. He doesn’t allow attackers into the zone easily, especially with possession. He is able to get his body in the way of lots of shots and he is able to read the exact moment when the opponent is going to release the shot.
This clip from the top prospects game is just an example of perfect positioning when defending the rush in the neutral zone. He is able to break up Connor Bedard’s (#98 Red) saucer pass by using his hand eye coordination. If this pass would have gone through, the attacker would have been in on a breakaway. When Bonk gains possession, he is safely able to backhand saucer pass it over to his defense partner and start the attack for his team.
On this play, Bonk is able to approach the attacker slowly and reach out to eliminate the shot at the exact moment that the attacker is going to shoot.
Here’s another play with his defensive stick, unable to make contact with the puck here, but his reach out far enough to make the attacker shoot wide.
Bonk begins pressuring the shooter by using his stick, when he realizes he is going to shoot he crouches down for the block. This is a really high IQ adjustment from him to read the decision making of the attacker.
Here’s another example of Bonk waiting until the exact right moment to crouch down to block the shot.
Grade: 60
Physicality/Compete
Bonk’s physical game has been a huge area of progression in his game. At the beginning of the season, I’m not sure that he knew how to use his body properly. Now he is using it to change possession and he seems to be outmuscling opponents on every shift in the defensive zone. He doesn’t make the biggest hits, but he makes plays that knock opponents off the puck. In the way he plays the game, Bonk doesn’t come across as a player with a high work ethic, but he never seems to give up at any point. Even at the end of lengthy shifts or late in the game, Bonk still seems to make the same decisions/plays.
This is an all-round high compete shift from Bonk, and this segment is at roughly the 1:00 minute mark of his shift. He is able to pin the opponent to the boards for 9 consecutive seconds and allow his teammate to come in and grab the puck. Bonk uses his stick and body to take the player out of the play. When the puck is loose again, he uses his stick to pin down the opponent’s stick and prevent him from getting the puck.
On this play, Bonk strictly takes the opponent's body and drives him into the boards. This is a good representation of his upper body strength and ability to take opponents out of the play.
Bonk is able to redeem himself from getting manipulated by the attacker and he is able to take the stick and the body at the same time. This is a high IQ desperation play, because this could have resulted in a dangerous scoring chance for the opposition.
Initially, he gets taken out of the play here, but he is able to keep a strong stance and prevent the attacker from getting the puck. Bonk doesn’t really know where this puck is once he gets hit into the boards, but because he is able to keep himself standing up, he is able to protect it until his teammate comes to support him. He is very resistant to succumbing physically and doesn’t give up on the play until his team has possession.
Grade: 55
OFP: 54.5
A note on the 20-80 scale used above. We look at five attributes (skating, shooting, puck skills, hockey IQ and physicality) for skaters and six for goalies (athleticism/quickness, compete/temperament, vision/play reading, technique/style, rebound control and puck handling). Each individual attribute is graded along the 20-80 scales, which includes half-grades. The idea is that a projection of 50 in a given attribute meant that our observer believed that the player could get to roughly NHL average at that attribute at maturity.