Flyers Reassign Oliver Bonk, Hunter McDonald, Carson Bjarnason
Feb. 19: The Flyers announced they’ve returned Bonk, McDonald, and goaltender Carson Bjarnason to Lehigh Valley today. They’ll get into AHL game action over the weekend after getting a day’s worth of NHL practice time.
Feb. 18: The Flyers have recalled defensemen Oliver Bonk and Hunter McDonald from AHL Lehigh Valley as expected, per a team announcement. They’ll get some practice reps in while Travis Sanheim and Rasmus Ristolainen are still representing their countries at the Olympics.
While Bonk likely won’t be sticking around past the next week, it’s still a nice reward for Philly’s top-ranked defense prospect. Viewed as the only future top-four piece in their pipeline, the 21-year-old has had a trying first professional season. An upper-body injury sustained during rookie camp kept him out of the lineup until December. Since returning, he’s had two goals and six points with a -5 rating in 22 games for Lehigh Valley.
Bonk was the 22nd overall selection in 2023. He’s a two-time OHL champion with the London Knights and recorded 150 points in 189 career junior games with a +88 rating across four seasons. The early lack of offensive production in the AHL likely isn’t too concerning for the Flyers, who drafted the right-shot Bonk as more of a defensive-oriented two-way piece, but they’ll look to continue to grow his defensive game in the minors until likely giving him a more extended look on the roster in either 2026-27 or 2027-28.
McDonald, also a shutdown-type piece, got a brief recall in January while Rasmus Ristolainen was sidelined, but was scratched in three games before being returned to Lehigh Valley. The 23-year-old 6’4″ lefty has five assists and a +9 rating in 40 games for the Phantoms this year.
Flyers Recall Carson Bjarnason
The Flyers announced they’ve recalled goaltender Carson Bjarnason from AHL Lehigh Valley. He’ll complement Samuel Ersson in practice for the next few days until Team Czechia’s time at the Winter Olympics is over, allowing Daniel Vladař to return to Philadelphia.
Bjarnason, 20, is viewed by many as the Flyers’ goalie of the future alongside fellow 2023 draftee Yegor Zavragin. Zavragin is viewed by prospect evaluators as the higher-ceiling netminder, but most of his development in Russia will be inaccessible to stateside fans. Bjarnason, a more liquid asset, was tabbed as the No. 12 prospect in Philadelphia’s system last summer by Corey Pronman of The Athletic. Perhaps his performance this season has dampened expectations, though.
A first-year pro, Bjarnason has struggled to the tune of a .889 SV% and a 3.08 GAA in 22 games with Lehigh Valley. It’s worth noting that jumping from juniors straight to the AHL is a far rarer path for goalies than it is for skaters, though. Most netminders will get at least one year of full-time seasoning in the ECHL – even first-round picks like the Red Wings’ Sebastian Cossa, for a recent example – before making the jump to the AHL, so it’s wise to take Bjarnason’s numbers with a grain of salt.
That said, the 6’4″, 207-lb netminder has still managed a winning record in Lehigh Valley at 11-7-5. He won’t be getting any recalls resulting in game action anytime soon, but next year will be a pivotal one to see if he can take the next step up the ladder into being a viable AHL starter.
Transactions Notes: Hurricanes, Jones, Carrick, Bjarnason, Copponi
Having already clinched the second playoff spot in the Metropolitan Division, the Carolina Hurricanes had the opportunity to rest a few players for tomorrow night’s game against the Montreal Canadiens. Keeping that in mind, the Hurricanes announced they’ve recalled forwards Skyler Brind’Amour and Bradly Nadeau and defensemen Domenick Fensore and Riley Stillman from their AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, to fill in for the resting players.
Brind’Amour’s recall is significant for a few reasons. He’ll make his NHL debut tomorrow night against the Canadiens and will be the first NHL player to be coached by his father at the top level since Winnipeg Jets captain Adam Lowry was briefly coached by his father, Dave Lowry, for 54 games in the 2021-22 NHL season.
Meanwhile, Nadeau and Fensore (who will also debut tomorrow night) are two of Carolina’s top prospects already playing in North America. Nadeau led the Wolves in scoring this season, managing 30 goals and 56 points in 63 games, while Fensore scored nine goals and 32 points in 66 contests.
Other transactions from around the league:
- According to a team announcement, the Los Angeles Kings have recalled defenseman Caleb Jones from their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, on an emergency basis. Although he won’t be filling in for a defenseman, Jones’s recall is likely in response to Quinton Byfield sustaining an injury in last night’s contest against the Edmonton Oilers. Per Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff, Oilers’ defenseman Darnell Nurse will have a hearing with the Department of Player Safety for cross-checking Byfield, leading to his injury.
- In another emergency recall, the Oilers have promoted defenseman Connor Carrick to the NHL level. Carrick’s recall could be due to the five defensemen injured on the Oilers’ blue line or because of the expected suspension looming for Nurse. The 31-year-old defenseman has scored 17 goals and 39 points in 60 games for the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors this year.
- Per the AHL transactions page and publicized by Jackie Spiegel of The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia Flyers have reassigned goaltender prospect Carson Bjarnason to their AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Bjarnason was the fourth netminder taken off the board in the 2023 NHL Draft as the 51st overall pick and recently produced a 22-15-3 record in 40 games with the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings with a .913 SV% and 2.93 GAA.
- In another move by the Oilers organization, their AHL affiliate in Bakersfield announced they’ve signed forward Matt Copponi to an amateur tryout agreement for the rest of the 2024-25 AHL season. Copponi, drafted by Edmonton with the 216th overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft, recently lost the 2025 NCAA National Championship with Boston University. Still, he was an effective secondary scorer for the Terriers’ program, putting up eight goals and 24 points in 40 contests this season.
Flyers Sign Carson Bjarnason To Entry-Level Contract
7:26 p.m.: CapFriendly has the full breakdown of Bjarnason’s deal, which has a cap hit of $913K:
Year 1: $775K base salary, $95K signing bonus, $80K games played bonus
Year 2: $825K base salary, $95K signing bonus, $30K games played bonus
Year 3: $855K base salary, $95K signing bonus
1:12 p.m.: Having already signed their second of two first-round selections in the 2023 NHL Draft, the Philadelphia Flyers will now ink their second-round selection to his entry-level contract. The Flyers announced via a press release they have signed Carson Bjarnason to a three-year contract, who was originally drafted 51st overall in June’s draft.
Being the fourth-highest goaltender selected in the 2023 NHL Draft, Bjarnason has spent the last two years with the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL and is poised to suit up for them again for the 2023-24 season. He improved significantly from his rookie season, posting a 21-19-5 record in 47 games played, carrying a SV% of .900 and a GAA of 3.08. Although not outright impressive numbers at face value, it is important to note the Wheat Kings finished 10th in the Eastern Conference last year, finishing with a losing record and a -30 goal differential.
In the Flyers organization specifically, it will likely take several years for Bjarnason to move up the depth chart. The team already has three goaltenders pegged for the NHL level this season, with both Ivan Fedotov and Samuel Ersson on the cusp. Given his play at the KHL, Fedotov appears poised for the longer-term answer in net, with the team also having the ability to sign Carter Hart to an extension next summer. Nevertheless, Bjarnason has his work cut out for him to eventually suit up in Philadelphia over the next several seasons.