Family affair: 2023 draft class rich with NHL bloodlines

BUFFALO – Oliver Bonk finished his NHL Scouting Combine fitness testing at the LECOM Harborcenter on Saturday and walked up to a group of assembled media sporting a hairstyle that's all too familiar in his family: the mullet.

Bonk is a chip off the old block. His father, Radek, a 14-year NHL veteran and the third overall pick in 1994, was a fan favorite in his playing days during the 1990s and 2000s thanks to his infamous mullet. There's still a popular parody Twitter account in honor of Radek's luscious locks.

Oliver, pictured above (No. 42), says his mullet was an "emergency haircut" right before he left for the combine.

"It was either shave it all off and go to a fresh cut like you have right now," Bonk said, gesturing to my fade. "Or go back to the mullet like my dad had, so I definitely wanted to pay homage to him."

Radek wasn't exactly pleased with his son's tribute, though.

"I came home and he was like, 'Oh my god, what did you do?' My mom wasn't very happy about it, either," Oliver said, laughing.

Oliver was born in 2005, so he's too young to remember the last few years of Radek's NHL life, which wrapped in 2009. But Oliver does have fond memories of watching Radek's career end in the Czech league from 2009-14.

"He's been a big mentor for me," Oliver said. "A lot of emotional support this year. He was my coach growing up but he's not my coach anymore, so a lot of emotional support, a lot of good pointers."

Bonk, born in Ottawa, spent this past season with the OHL's London Knights. A 6-foot-2 right-handed defenseman, he has a strong chance of being selected in the first round of the NHL draft on June 28.

And he's one of a number of players in the 2023 class with rich NHL bloodlines.

Ethan Gauthier, like Bonk, is another projected first-round pick. He's the son of Denis Gauthier - a hard-nosed defenseman who played 10 seasons in the NHL from 1997-2009 - and the cousin of Ottawa Senators winger Julien Gauthier.

Ethan, a winger listed at 5-11, 183 pounds, lacks the size of his 6-foot-2, 225-pound father and his 6-foot-4, 224-pound cousin. But that doesn't stop him from playing the game with his old man's bulldog mentality.

"Obviously, my dad was a defenseman, but maybe I took that physicality from him. I grew up watching his tribute videos of him just hitting people," Ethan said, getting a laugh from the assembled media. "Obviously I always wanted to be like that as well.

"I kind of realized in my first game with contact that maybe I had that aspect in me, that advantage on other guys. I just want to keep that advantage for myself and just keep working around that game. Obviously my cousin (Julien) is more like a power forward. My cousin is a big guy. Obviously, I'm not 6-4 like him, but just that power-forward game, driving the net, all that stuff is definitely what I look up to."

Gauthier brings more than scrappiness to the table. He has plenty of offensive ability, too, putting him in the mold of players like Brad Marchand, Brendan Gallagher, and Brandon Tanev. Gauthier finished third on the QMJHL's Sherbrooke Phoenix with 30 goals and 69 points in 66 games this past season.

Aaron Pionk doesn't have the same hype as Bonk or Gauthier, but that's business as usual in his family. Aaron's the younger brother of Winnipeg Jets blue-liner Neal Pionk, who despite being undrafted has developed into a legitimate top-four NHL defenseman.

Being drafted isn't a sure thing for Aaron, either, who's ranked 117th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting, and who's one of the oldest in the class at 20.

"I know (going undrafted) definitely put a chip on (Neal's) shoulder, so I think it would put a chip on my shoulder, as well," Aaron said. "I've battled my whole life to get where I am. Obviously being one of the oldest guys here, I battled that way just to get here. It was a hard fight. If I go undrafted, I think it'll just be more of a fight."

Aaron and Neal are eight years apart, so they never played on the same team growing up, but the chance of doing so in the NHL would be special.

"That would be crazy," Aaron said. "I've never, ever had the chance because the age difference is so big, so I think the only way that would happen is professional hockey. So, if that ever did happen, it would be a once in a lifetime opportunity. It would be so crazy, it would be awesome."

The 2023 draft class also features Gabriel Perreault, the son of 14-year NHL veteran Yanic Perreault and brother of 2020 Anaheim Ducks first-rounder Jacob Perreault.

Yanic was best known as a faceoff maestro during his 1993-2008 NHL career. He owns a career 62.86% faceoff winning percentage - the best in NHL history since it's been tracked in 2005-06 (minimum 500 attempts). Even though Gabriel's a winger, his prowess in the faceoff dot was passed down to him from his father.

"We worked on that quite a bit," Gabriel said. "Obviously I'm not a center but I take faceoffs on the power play in the (offensive) zone sometimes, so he's helped with that."

Perreault was part of dominant top line with the U.S. National Team Development Program alongside projected top-five pick Will Smith and potential top-10 selection Ryan Leonard. Perreault's a near lock to go in the first round after racking up a team-leading 132 points in 63 games - the most in a single season in program history.

Meanwhile, Ottawa 67's forward Luca Pinelli isn't expecting to hear his name called on Day 1 of the draft like Perreault, but he believes he had an advantage at the combine and through the draft process thanks to his older brother. Francesco Pinelli went through it all before him, albeit under different circumstances, ahead of being selected in the second round by the Los Angeles Kings in 2021.

"He did Zoom calls with teams because it was the COVID year, so I sort of just listened in to his interviews," Luca said. "My main thing is just be yourself and enjoy the moment because it's only a once in a lifetime opportunity."

Bloodlines run deep in 2023; several other players with NHL family ties are eligible to be drafted in late June. Among them are: Cole Knuble (Mike's son), Luke Mittelstadt (Casey's brother), David Klee (Ken's son), Riley Mercer (Dawson's brother), Beckett Hendrickson (Darby's son), and Florian Xhekaj (Arber's brother).

The NHL is always changing, but familiar names from the past remain a constant.