Bonk changes allegiances with son Oliver representing Canada
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The 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship will be a conflicted tournament for former Ottawa Senators centre Radek Bonk.
Bonk, who represented his native Czechia on the international stage three times in his career, will switch allegiances this year as his son, Oliver, will be representing Canada.
“When it comes to the World Championship, I’ve always leaned towards Czechia,” Bonk told TSN1200 on Friday. “I always said unless Oliver is on Team Canada, Czechia will have a soft spot in my heart. Canada always seems to be up there and winning, but for Czechia it’s very rare to be in the final.
“It’s still an honour, I consider myself half-Canadian anyways. Czechia is my No. 2 for this tournament, and obviously Canada is my No. 1. I’m going to cheer for Canada and my son do to well and bring home the gold.”
Oliver successfully made Canada’s World Junior team on Thursday after a four-day selection camp in Oakville, Ont. The 18-year-old was born in Ottawa and though he played some minor hockey in Czechia as a child, he elected to represent Canada in international play.
The 6-foot-2 right-shot defenceman was drafted 22nd overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in last June’s draft and has six goals and 30 points in 28 games with the Ontario Hockey League’s London Knights this season.
Oliver’s hockey path has been quite different than his father’s. Bonk grew up in former Czechoslovakia with dreams of playing in the top Czech league and one day, the national team.
That dream changed when he moved to Las Vegas to play with the International Hockey League’s Vegas Thunder in 1993, with the ultimate goal of playing in the NHL.
“For a Czech, going from a communist country to a democracy, where now you can travel and people were going out, going to Vegas was such a big change,” Bonk said. “In Czechoslovakia, the World Championships was the best you could have done unless you deserted the country, which some players did.”
Once Bonk reached the NHL, he soon realized that the league was much different than what he faced in Czechia and the IHL. The 6-foot-3 forward struggled to contribute offensively during his first three seasons, and it wasn’t until then-head coach Jacques Martin suggested some changes to his game that he found his role.
“Everybody who comes to the NHL, even tough guys back then, were goal scorers in the CHL and I had little bit of trouble finding my role,” admitted Bonk. “I wasn’t the fastest guy out there, so I had to change my game.”
With Oliver making the World Junior team as an 18-year-old, the Ottawa native could have the rare opportunity to return to the tournament next season when the event will be held in his hometown.
While Bonk admits that opportunity would be exhilarating, he knows that next year is a long way away and anything can happen.
“He has the chance this year and he made the team, so we’re concentrating on that,” said Bonk. “You never know when you’ll get this chance. Canada is a country where there’s a large amount of great players coming up every year, so that’s why you have to take the chance when you get it.”
Bonk is extremely proud of his son’s accomplishments up to this point in his hockey career but knows Oliver has a long way to go before he reaches his ultimate goal of reaching the NHL.
“I know how much he wanted [to make Team Canada] and I was very happy for him,” Bonk said. “It’s coming along for him but it’s still a long, long way for him to go where he wants to go. He’s on the right path and I believe, with the work he puts in, he’ll reach his goals.