Flyers’ Oliver Bonk learning intensity of NHL, relishing first development camp experience

Hearing his name called over the PA system at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville as a first-round draft pick of the Flyers was cool, but getting to put on the team’s practice sweater took it to the next level for Oliver Bonk.

“It’s great to get drafted, but it’s a completely different feeling when you’re actually getting on the ice and getting ready to actually practice with the Flyers,” the defenseman said Wednesday.

With Matvei Michkov, the Flyers’ No. 7 overall pick, absent from development camp, Bonk, who was picked at No. 22, is the only 2023 first-rounder at the camp in Voorhees. Cutter Gauthier, the Flyers’ 2022 first-round pick, also is absent after declining the invitation.

Fans lined the glass this week to see Bonk and the other prospects, and they waited to get his autograph outside the Flyers Training Center. Despite the attention, Bonk said he’s feeling more excitement than pressure right now.

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“It’s great watching people watching the practices,” Bonk said. “There’s not really pressure from people or the staff. ... Seeing how passionate they are makes me really happy.”

He had discussed it with older friends, but Bonk wasn’t quite sure what to expect out of development camp since every team runs it differently. (The Chicago Blackhawks, for example, aren’t holding any on-ice sessions this year.) Bonk has been feeling everything out, figuring out the drills, exploring the facilities, and meeting new people. Zayde Wisdom and Bobby Brink are two older guys he has been looking up to.

“You get treated like a king here,” Bonk said. “They give you everything they can to help you succeed, so it’s really nice to come in and kind of be treated like that, first time ever. It’s a really cool experience.”

Development camp is about improvement rather than competing for a spot, and Bonk said he has learned a lot so far. The son of former NHL veteran Radek Bonk, he feels he knows his game pretty well, but he has learned he needs to get quicker to be ready for the pace of the NHL. He has watched how hard everyone competes, giving him a taste of what it takes to make it.

“Even the younger guys are going hard,” Bonk said. “It’s a whole ‘nother step from the [Ontario Hockey League], so I think I’m just trying to bring that intensity back to the OHL.”

Bonk turned 18 in January and likely will play another year with the OHL’s London Knights. But his time in Voorhees has given him a taste of his dreams of playing in the NHL.

Devin Kaplan heard over and over that when he stepped onto the TD Garden ice for the first time, his mind would be blown. And yet, he still wasn’t ready for the moment.

“You think they’re just kidding and they’re hyping it up too much,” Kaplan said. “But when you step on the ice, it’s everything they talked about. And then I was lucky enough to score that goal in the Hockey East final, and it was one of the best moments of my life.”

Kaplan, a third-round draft pick by the Flyers last year, appeared in all 40 games for Boston University in his freshman campaign. He collected 10 goals and 13 assists, including the game-tying goal against Merrimack in the Hockey East final, and was named to the Hockey East all-tournament team.

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The whole season wasn’t smooth sailing. At the start, Kaplan said he required an adjustment to NCAA hockey, but then he worked on becoming a “Swiss Army knife.”

“It was good for me to be able to play up and down the lineup, become a versatile player, and then also just adjust to the older and stronger guys and learn how to use my body in different ways and in more effective ways,” said Kaplan, 19.

This summer, he’ll be focusing on putting on more weight, although Boston University listed him at 6-foot-3 and 204 pounds. Kaplan said development camp has been great for improving some of his skills. The Flyers started with work on angling and also focused on adjusting speed, retrieving pucks, and creating space.

Kaplan is from Bridgewater, N.J. His parents are still New York Rangers fans, and he doesn’t expect that to change until he makes the Flyers roster. But he’s taking it one day at a time and doesn’t have a timeline for when he expects to reach the NHL.

Finnish prospect Samu Tuomaala says he plans on making the move to North America this season and playing for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Tuomaala, a second-round pick in 2021, put up 26 goals and 46 points in Finland’s second-tier pro league last season. Best known for his high-end speed, Tuomaala has experienced an up-and-down couple of seasons since being drafted by the Flyers.