| Position | Center |
| Shoots | Left |
| Height Weight |
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 213 lb (97 kg/15 st 3 lb) |
| NHL Team F. teams |
Nashville Predators Montreal Canadiens Ottawa Senators |
| Nationality | File:Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czech Republic |
| Born | January 9, 1976, Krnov, CZE |
| 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.
Playing 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.
NHL career[]
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 2001–02 NHL 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.
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.
Awards[]
- 1993-94: - Gary F. Longman Memorial Trophy (IHL Rookie of the Year)
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 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 10 | ||||
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
References[]
See also[]
- List of AHL seasons
- List of NHL players
- List of NHL seasons
External links[]
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de:Radek Bonk fr:Radek Bonk ru:Бонк, Радек sk:Radek Bonk sv:Radek Bonk