Radek Bonk

Radek Bonk (born January 9, 1976) is a Czech professional ice hockey player currently playing for Oceláři Třinec of the Czech Extraliga.
==Playing career==
Bonk was born in Czechoslovakia and began his hockey career playing for Slezan Opava in the Junior Czech league and Zlín in the Czech Extraliga. He moved to North America in 1993 with a goal of playing in the National Hockey League (NHL) and was signed by the International Hockey League (IHL)'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.
Bonk 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 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 NHL hockey before he emerged as one of the league's most complete forwards by 1999–2000. 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.
Bonk originally wore number 76 as a member of the Thunder and in his first two seasons in Ottawa, but switched to number 14 after new general manager Pierre Gauthier implemented a team rule prohibiting players from wearing "vanity numbers" (that is, numbers higher than the goaltenders). Thus, teammate Alexandre Daigle also switched to number 9 from his traditional 91.
A skilled player, Bonk 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. 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.
On July 2, 2007, Bonk signed as a free agent with the Nashville Predators to a two-year contract.
On July 22, 2009, after 969 games in the NHL it was announced that Bonk agreed to a one-year contract with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl to continue his career in the Russian Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). After only seven games into the 2009–10 season, Bonk left Yaroslavl to return the Czech Republic with Oceláři Třinec in the Czech Extraliga on October 8, 2009. Radek posted 17 points in 39 games for the season with Oceláři to earn a two-year contract extension on May 2, 2010.
==Personal==
Bonk is married to a Canadian, Jill Sarcen, whom he met in Ottawa while a member of the Senators. They have sons — Oliver Jaroslav and Cameron, and daughters Kennedy Grace and Maya.
==Awards==
*1993–94 — Gary F. Longman Memorial Trophy (IHL Rookie of the Year)
==Career statistics==
===Regular season and playoffs===
 	 	 		Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season		Playoffs	Playoffs	Playoffs	Playoffs	Playoffs
Season 	Team 	League		GP 	G 	A 	Pts 	PIM 		GP 	G 	A 	Pts 	PIM
1992–93	Zlín ZPS 	CZE 		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 	CZE 		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	Oceláři Třinec 	CZE 		27 	6 	10 	16 	44 		— 	— 	— 	— 	—
2004–05	Zlín ZPS 	CZE 		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
2008–09	Nashville Predators 	NHL 		66 	9 	16 	25 	34 		— 	— 	— 	— 	—
2009–10	Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 	KHL 		7 	0 	2 	2 	6 		— 	— 	— 	— 	—
2009–10	Oceláři Třinec 	CZE 		39 	5 	12 	17 	60 		5 	2 	3 	5 	4
 	NHL totals 	 		969 	194 	303 	497 	581 		73 	12 	15 	27 	42
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
===International===
Year 	Team 	Comp 	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1993 	Czechoslovkia 	WJC 	6 	4	2	6 	6
1996 	Czech Republic 	WCH 	3 	1	0	1 	0
1996 	Czech Republic 	WC 	8 	2	2	4 	14
Junior int'l totals	Junior int'l totals	Junior int'l totals	6 	4	2	6 	6
Senior int'l totals	Senior int'l totals	Senior int'l totals	11	3	2	5 	14
==Transactions==
* June 28, 1994 — Drafted by the Ottawa Senators in the first round, third overall.
* June 26, 2004 — Traded to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for a third round draft pick (Shawn Weller).
* June 26, 2004 — Traded with Cristobal Huet to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Mathieu Garon and a third round draft pick.
* July 2, 2007 — Signed as a free agent by the Nashville Predators.
==References==
==External links==
* 
Category:Born in 1976
Category:Czech ice hockey players
Category:Las Vegas Thunder players
Category:HC Oceláři Třinec players
Category:HC Zlín players
Category:Lokomotiv Yaroslavl players
Category:Montreal Canadiens players
Category:Nashville Predators players
Category:National Hockey League All-Stars
Category:National Hockey League first round draft picks
Category:Ottawa Senators draft picks
Category:Ottawa Senators players
Category:Prince Edward Island Senators players