Radek Bonk

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Position Left wing
Shoots Left
Nickname(s) Bonk-y
Height
Weight
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
220 lb (100 kg/15 st 10 lb)
NHL Team
F. teams
Nashville Predators
Montreal Canadiens
Ottawa Senators
Nationality Flag of the Czech Republic Czech Republic
Born January 9, 1976 (1976-01-09) (age 32),
Krnov, CSE
NHL Draft 3rd overall, 1994
Ottawa Senators
Pro career 1993 – present

Radek Bonk (born January 9, 1976, in Krnov, Czechoslovakia) is a professional ice hockey center in the NHL for the Nashville Predators.

Contents

[edit] Pro Career

Bonk was born in Czechoslovakia and began his hockey career playing for HC Opava in the Czech league[1]. He moved to North America in 1993 with a goal of playing in the NHL and was signed by the International Hockey League'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.

He 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 pro hockey before he emerged as one of the NHL's most complete forwards by 1999-00[3]. 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.

A skilled player, he 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. His stay with the Kings was very brief, as 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 2001–2002 season when he produced 70 points for the Ottawa Senators.

Bonk originally wore number 76 as a member of the Thunder and in his first two seasons in Ottawa, but now wears number 14 on his jersey.

[edit] Personal

Bonk is married to a Canadian, Jill Sarcen, whom he met in Ottawa while a member of the Senators. They have a son Oliver Jaroslav, and a daughter, Kennady Grace.

[edit] Awards

  • 1993-94: - Garry F. Longman Memorial Trophy (IHL Rookie of the Year)

[edit] Career statistics

    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1990–91 HC Opava Czech 35 47 42 89 25 -- -- -- -- --
1991–92 ZPS Zlin Czech 45 47 36 83 30 -- -- -- -- --
1992–93 ZPS Zlin Czech 30 5 5 10 10 -- -- -- -- --
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
1999–00 Pardubice HC Czech 3 1 0 1 4 -- -- -- -- --
1999–00 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 Trinec Ocelari HC Czech 27 6 10 16 44 -- -- -- -- --
2004–05 Zlin ZPS HC Czech 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
NHL Totals 903 185 287 472 547 73 12 15 27 42
IHL Totals 109 49 58 107 270 -- -- -- -- --

[edit] Transactions

  • June 28, 1994 - Ottawa drafts Bonk in the first round, 3rd overall
  • June 26, 2004 - Ottawa trades Bonk to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for a 3rd round draft pick (Shawn Weller)
  • June 26, 2004 - Los Angeles trades Bonk and Cristobal Huet to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Mathieu Garon and a 3rd round draft pick
  • July 2, 2007 - Bonk signs with Nashville as a free agent

[edit] References

[edit] External links