Radek Bonk

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Radek Bonk
Bonk with Oceláři Třinec in 2012
Born (1976-01-09) 9 January 1976 (age 48)
Krnov, Czechoslovakia
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 213 lb (97 kg; 15 st 3 lb)
Position Center
Shot Left
Played for Zlín ZPS
Ottawa Senators
HC IPB Pojišťovna Pardubice
Oceláři Třinec
Montreal Canadiens
Nashville Predators
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl
National team  Czech Republic
NHL Draft 3rd overall, 1994
Ottawa Senators
Playing career 1993–2014

Radek Bonk (born 9 January 1976) is a Czech former professional ice hockey player who most recently played for Oceláři Třinec of the Czech Extraliga.

Playing career[edit]

Bonk was born in Czechoslovakia and began his hockey career playing for Slezan Opava in the Junior Czech league and Zlín in the Czech Extraliga.[1] He moved to North America in 1993 with a goal of playing in the National Hockey League (NHL) and was signed by the International Hockey League (IHL)'s Las Vegas Thunder, with whom he spent the 1993–94 season as a 17-year-old. Bonk was an immediate sensation in the IHL and by the end of his first season of the North American brand of hockey he had registered 42 goals and 45 assists for 87 points in 76 games. NHL scouts took notice, and Bonk found himself at or near the top of all the top prospects lists for the 1994 NHL Entry Draft. Given his young age (17), size, and ability to quickly adapt to the more physical style of hockey in North America, Bonk became a "can't miss" prospect.

Bonk was drafted third overall by the Ottawa Senators in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft, the first forward selected. He returned to Las Vegas for the first half of the 1994–95 season while the NHL was shut down by the owners' lockout[2] and registered 20 points in 33 games. His debut NHL season of 1994–95 was somewhat disappointing, and Bonk scored only 3 goals and 11 points in 42 games. His progress took some seasoning in his first five years of NHL hockey before he emerged as one of the league's most complete forwards by 1999–2000.[2] He went on to play for the Senators for 10 seasons, eventually becoming the team’s #1 center under the tutelage of head coach Jacques Martin.

Bonk originally wore number 76 as a member of the Thunder and in his first two seasons in Ottawa, but switched to number 14 after new general manager Pierre Gauthier implemented a team rule prohibiting players from wearing "vanity numbers" (that is, numbers higher than the goaltenders). Thus, teammate Alexandre Daigle also switched to number 9 from his traditional 91.

A skilled player, Bonk was often criticized in the Ottawa media for his lack of aggression, despite his size. On the day of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings for a third round draft pick. The same day, he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens along with Cristobal Huet for Mathieu Garon and a third round selection in the 2004 draft. His most productive season points-wise was the 2001–02 NHL season when he produced 70 points for the Ottawa Senators.

On 2 July 2007, Bonk signed as a free agent with the Nashville Predators to a two-year contract.[3]

On 22 July 2009, after 969 games in the NHL it was announced that Bonk agreed to a one-year contract with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl to continue his career in the Russian Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).[4] After only seven games into the 2009–10 season, Bonk left Yaroslavl to return the Czech Republic with Oceláři Třinec in the Czech Extraliga on 8 October 2009.[5] Radek posted 17 points in 39 games for the season with Oceláři to earn a two-year contract extension on 2 May 2010.[6]

Bonk announced his retirement on 19 May 2014.[7]

Personal life[edit]

Bonk is married to a Canadian, Jill Sarcen, whom he met in Ottawa while a member of the Senators. They have sons — Oliver and Cameron, and daughters Kennedy and Maya. He relocated with his family to Ottawa in 2015, where he plays in a recreational men's hockey league[8] and coaches a youth hockey team on which one of his daughters plays.[9] His son, Oliver, was drafted in the first round, 22nd overall, by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft.[10]

Bonk is an uncle of Patrik Bartošák, who was drafted 146th overall by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

Awards[edit]

Career statistics[edit]

Regular season and playoffs[edit]

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1990–91 HC Slezan Opava TCH Jr 35 47 42 89 25 — — — — —
1991–92 AC ZPS Zlín TCH Jr 45 47 36 83 30 — — — — —
1992–93 AC ZPS Zlín TCH 23 4 3 7 10 6 1 1 2 —
1993–94 Las Vegas Thunder IHL 76 42 45 87 208 5 1 2 3 10
1994–95 Las Vegas Thunder IHL 33 7 13 20 62 — — — — —
1994–95 Ottawa Senators NHL 42 3 8 11 28 — — — — —
1994–95 Prince Edward Island Senators AHL — — — — — 1 0 0 0 0
1995–96 Ottawa Senators NHL 76 16 19 35 36 — — — — —
1996–97 Ottawa Senators NHL 53 5 13 18 14 7 0 1 1 4
1997–98 Ottawa Senators NHL 65 7 9 16 16 5 0 0 0 2
1998–99 Ottawa Senators NHL 81 16 16 32 48 4 0 0 0 6
1999–2000 HC IPB Pojišťovna Pardubice ELH 3 1 0 1 4 — — — — —
1999–2000 Ottawa Senators NHL 80 23 37 60 53 6 0 0 0 8
2000–01 Ottawa Senators NHL 74 23 36 59 52 2 0 0 0 2
2001–02 Ottawa Senators NHL 82 25 45 70 52 12 3 7 10 6
2002–03 Ottawa Senators NHL 70 22 32 54 36 18 6 5 11 10
2003–04 Ottawa Senators NHL 66 12 32 44 66 7 0 2 2 0
2004–05 HC Oceláři Třinec ELH 27 6 10 16 44 — — — — —
2004–05 HC Hamé Zlín ELH 6 3 2 5 4 6 0 2 2 8
2005–06 Montreal Canadiens NHL 61 6 15 21 52 6 2 0 2 2
2006–07 Montreal Canadiens NHL 74 13 10 23 54 — — — — —
2007–08 Nashville Predators NHL 79 14 15 29 40 6 1 0 1 2
2008–09 Nashville Predators NHL 66 9 16 25 34 — — — — —
2009–10 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl KHL 7 0 2 2 6 — — — — —
2009–10 HC Oceláři Třinec ELH 39 5 12 17 60 5 2 3 5 4
2010–11 HC Oceláři Třinec ELH 50 14 25 39 68 18 6 7 13 24
2011–12 HC Oceláři Třinec ELH 48 11 14 25 44 5 0 1 1 0
2012–13 HC Oceláři Třinec ELH 39 14 26 40 30 13 4 6 10 10
2013–14 HC Oceláři Třinec ELH 49 8 23 31 30 11 4 8 12 6
NHL totals 969 194 303 497 581 73 12 15 27 42
ELH totals 261 62 112 174 284 58 16 27 43 52

International[edit]

Medal record
Ice hockey
Representing  Czech Republic
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1996 Vienna
Representing  Czechoslovakia
World Junior Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1993 Gävle
Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1993 Czechoslovakia EJC 6 4 2 6 6
1996 Czech Republic WC 8 2 2 4 14
1996 Czech Republic WCH 3 1 0 1 0
Senior totals 11 3 2 5 14

Transactions[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Radek Bonk -hockeydraft.ca". hockeydraft.ca. 5 April 2008. Retrieved 7 April 2008.
  2. ^ a b "legendsofhockey.net - Radek Bonk". legendsofhockey.net. 5 April 2008. Retrieved 7 April 2008.
  3. ^ "Predators sign free agents Bonk, de Vries". predators.nhl.com. 2 July 2007. Archived from the original on 28 June 2009. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
  4. ^ "Bonk finalised for Lokomotiv". hockeysverige.se (in Swedish). 22 July 2009. Archived from the original on 2 August 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2010.
  5. ^ "Radek Bonk reinforces the Steelworkers". Oceláři Třinec (in Czech). 8 October 2009. Retrieved 18 August 2010.
  6. ^ "Bonk receives new contract". Oceláři Třinec (in Czech). 2 May 2010. Retrieved 18 August 2010.
  7. ^ "Radek Bonk calls it a career". 19 May 2014.
  8. ^ BarDown (news), Radek Bonk is playing in an Ottawa-area men's league and is off to a lightning hot start, 18 September 2015; TSN.ca. Retrieved 2016-12-07.
  9. ^ Nevil Hunt, Radek Bonk: have clipboard, will travel. Kanata Kourier-Standard via OurWindsor.ca, 30 November 2016. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
  10. ^ Han, Giana (28 June 2023). "Flyers draft defenseman Oliver Bonk with their second pick of the first round". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 28 June 2023.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Radek Bonk.
Preceded by Ottawa Senators first round draft pick
1994 		Succeeded by
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