Oliver Bonk took brief part in the Flyers’ practice today; what it means for his timeline for return and his place on the Phantoms.
Oct 1, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand (63) and Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Oliver Bonk (59) battle for the puck during the first period at the TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images
The Flyers are back from their quick road trip over the weekend, during which they split their back-to-back against the Blues and Stars, and after a surely much-needed day off on Sunday, they’re right back on the ice for a good practice, the first in their runway up to their next game on Thursday. And while the Flyers are working with some of the usual headlines coming out of the practice session — the shuffling of some of the forward lines, as well as an absence for Cam York which is, it seems, just for maintenance — the big news of the day is that they also have one of their top prospects returning to the ice as he works his way back from injury.
For the first time since he took an upper-body injury during rookie camp, Oliver Bonk was back on the ice with the Flyers. It’s been a long road for him, as his injury was initially thought to be more of the day-to-day variety, but it’s turned out to be more serious, keeping him out now for upwards of two months, so it’s nice to see him getting back into the mix, albeit briefly and still in that non-contact jersey.
Now, as reported by some of the boots on the ground at practice this morning, Bonk didn’t take the full practice with the NHL group, but rather came out for a bit of warmup work with the main group, and then headed over to the other ice sheet to continue with some individual rehab skating. So, it would seem that Bonk isn’t yet pounding on the door for a full return to action, but it’s encouraging all the same to see the recovery process continuing to move along nicely for him, as he gets closer to a return to playing, and eventually, his professional debut with the Phantoms.
Getting Bonk back into the mix would be a pretty significant boost for the Phantoms in terms of raising the floor of the raw skill level of the group, particularly with veteran Dennis Gilbert remaining out with injury.
This will be, though, the first time in recent memory when the Phantoms will have a surplus of bonafide AHL level talent on the right side of their defense. The Phantoms were running for much of the early part of the season with just one right-shooting AHL regular in the mix, in Helge Grans, and filling in the rest with bubble players. Now, though, between the team getting right shooting Christian Kyrou back in the trade for Samu Tuomaala last month, and getting Ethan Samson back from injury over the weekend, the Phantoms are now running a full group of at least marginally more veteran defensemen on the right side of their defense. When Bonk returns, though, this will mean the coaching staff will either have to establish some kind of platoon rotating two or more of these players in and out of the lineup — as they’ve already been doing with some of their players up front — or else move someone over to play on their off-side and push one of the bubble players (like a Berger or a Sevigny) out to prioritize the AHL regulars.
At some point, though, some kind of rotation is going to have to be established, as the Phantoms will be adding to their mix the literally just now acquired Maxence Guenette who is another righty, and with Rasmus Ristolainen also progressing through his recovery track and looking like he could be back in action before very long, the Flyers will also need to send at least one defenseman back down to the Phantoms to make space to activate him, so their surplus of players will grow even more significant. This isn’t an impossible situation that they’ll eventually find themselves in, but it will be a challenging one, as they work to strike the balance between fairness and optimizing their lineup to best help them secure wins.
All of this said, though, Bonk is going to get games. Not just because he needs to — as one of the organization’s top prospects and one who needs reps at the pro level to advance his development — but because his game is one which can offer a lot to the team, once he’s able to really get going. His details focused, well-rounded style of play is one which should lend him some versatility in that lineup, as he could be a good stylistic fit with just about any of the other pieces on the back end. His ability to move the puck cleanly and with some pace will also be an element of his game which will work particularly well within the Phantoms’ game plan, as they’re shifting their play style to a more uptempo transitioning team.
And on top of that, while Kyrou has been carving out a nice role for himself running the Phantoms’ top power play unit, the spot (or spots) on the second unit have been a little less locked down, as the Phantoms are still looking for the right mix, and Bonk could quite easily see himself sliding into a role there to help round out the second unit, building up from some success found in a similar role at the junior level.
Of course, ultimately it will take him some time to work himself up to speed and adjust enough to the professional game where he can again get to the top of his game, just like every other rookie in the league, but the Phantoms are running a system which should support his growing game nicely.
Ahead of the Tuesday deadline to add players to their 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 draft, the Boston Red Sox made a number of moves, including designating first baseman Nathaniel Lowe and right-hander Josh Winckowski for assignment.
Players who were not on 40-man rosters by the deadline are eligible to be selected by another team in the Rule 5 draft on Dec. 10.
The Red Sox traded two left-handed relievers, Brennan Bernardino and Chris Murphy, sending Bernardino to the Colorado Rockies for minor league outfielder Braiden Ward, and moving Murphy to the Chicago White Sox for Ronny Hernandez, a minor league catcher.
Boston also sent right-handed reliever Luis Guerrero to the Tampa Bay Rays for utility infielder Tristan Gray and shipped right-hander Alex Hope to the Seattle Mariners for catcher Luke Heyman in an exchange of minor leaguers.
The Red Sox added three players from Triple-A Worcester to the big-league roster: right-handers David Sandlin and Tyler Uberstine and left-hander Shane Drohan.
Signed in mid-August after being released by the Washington Nationals, Lowe provided a lift in Boston, hitting .280 with two homers, six doubles, 16 RBIs and a .790 OPS in 34 regular-season games. Overall, the 30-year-old hit .228 with 18 homers and 84 RBIs in 153 games with the Nationals and Red Sox.
Winckowski, 27, posted an 0-1 record and a 3.86 ERA in six games for Boston in 2025. In 11 2/3 innings, he had nine strikeouts and five walks. He was sent to the minors in late April and ultimately had his season end due to a right elbow flexor strain that ended his season.
The 33-year-old Bernardino finished 4-3 with a 3.14 ERA in 55 outings (three starts) this season, his third with Boston. In 51 2/3 innings, he struck out 43 and walked 26.
Murphy, 27, missed the 2024 season after Tommy John surgery and did not make his 2025 debut until June 28. He was 3-0 with a 3.12 ERA in 23 games, with 30 strikeouts and 20 walks in 34 2/3 innings.
The 25-year-old Guerrero appeared in 13 games for the Red Sox in 2025, going 0-1 with a 4.15 ERA, 10 strikeouts and 14 walks in 17 1/3 innings.
Drohan, 26, had an impressive 2025 campaign, going 5-2 with a 3.00 ERA, 77 strikeouts and 21 walks in 54 innings between Class-A Greenville (three starts) and Worcester (12 games, 11 starts).
Ranked as the Red Sox’s No. 10 prospect by MLB Pipeline, the 24-year-old Sandlin went 9-6 with a 4.50 ERA, 107 strikeouts and 40 walks in 106 innings between Double-A Portland (17 games, 13 starts) and Worcester (15 games, one start) last season.
Uberstine, 26, went 6-5 with a 3.58 ERA, 137 strikeouts and 41 walks over 120 2/3 innings between Portland (six starts) and Worcester (19 games, 15 starts) in 2025.
As for the players the Red Sox received in their trades, the 26-year-old Ward posted 57 stolen bases while hitting .290 with two homers, 37 RBIs and 74 runs between Double-A Hartford (53 games) and Triple-A Albuquerque (44 games).
Hernandez, 21, has yet to play above Class-A, posting a .262 batting average, 28 doubles, one triple, five homers and 80 RBIs in 176 games the past two seasons at Kannapolis.
The versatile 29-year-old Gray made his major league debut with the Rays in 2023. He played 30 games for Tampa Bay last season, hitting .231 with five doubles, three homers and nine RBIs while seeing playing time at every infield position.
Heyman, 22, has yet to play professionally after the Mariners selected the University of Florida product in the 14th round of the 2025 draft.