Transactions: Bonk and Jiricek to Flyers

Phantoms Also Send Five To Reading

April 21, 2026

Allentown, PA – The Philadelphia Flyers have recalled defensemen Oliver Bonk and David Jiricek from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Additionally, defenseman Jackson Edward has been reassigned by the Flyers to the Reading Royals of the ECHL. Goaltenders Yaniv Perets and Keith Petruzzelli along with defenseman Ben Meehan and forward Owen McLaughlin have all been loaned to the Reading Royals ahead of their first-round playoff series against the Wheeling Nailers.

Bonk, 21, has scored six goals with 13 assists for 19 points in 46 games since making his pro debut on December 6, 2025. He made his NHL debut a successful one scoring a goal in Philadelphia’s regular-season finale last Tuesday. The right-handed rookie blueliner won a Memorial Cup with the London Knights of the OHL but was then sidelined at the beginning of the season due to injury. Bonk was the #22 overall selection in the NHL draft in 2022. He is the son of NHL veteran Radek Bonk who played in 969 NHL games with Ottawa, Montreal and Nashville scoring 194-303-497.

Jiricek, 22, was acquired by the Philadelphia Flyers from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for Bobby Brink on March 6, 2026. He made his Flyers’ debut last Tuesday in Philadelphia’s final game of the regular season. Jiricek has been with the Phantoms for 15 games scoring two goals with 11 assists for 13 points. The #6 overall selection in the 2022 Draft by Columbus has played in 154 career AHL games scoring 19-71-90 in separate stretches with Cleveland, Iowa and Lehigh Valley. He has also now played in 85 career NHL games with Columbus and Minnesota scoring 2-11-13.

Edward, 22, was acquired at the trade deadline from the Boston Bruins organization along with Brett Harrison in exchange for Alexis Gendron and Massimo Rizzo. Edward has played in seven games with the Phantoms scoring one goal with three assists for four points. The London Knights product was a Round 7 selection of Boston in 2022. He has also played in nine games this season with the Providence Bruins as well as 21 games with the Maine Mariners of the ECHL where he recorded seven assists. Edward has played in 47 career AHL games with Providence and Lehigh Valley scoring 2-9-11 and also 28 career ECHL games with Maine scoring 1-8-9.

Perets, 26, produced a terrific 39-save shutout at Charlotte last Saturday while starting the final two games of the season for the Phantoms. The 6’1″ product of Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec has played in five games this season with the Phantoms going 2-3-0, 2.71, .905. Perets has also played in 27 games with Reading going 14-8-4, 2.84, .910. Perets was just named ECHL Goaltender of the Week for a second time out of three weeks. Perets is in his third season of professional hockey and has played 88 career ECHL games, going 44-31-8, 2.82, .906, while also playing nine career AHL games with Lehigh Valley and the Chicago Wolves, going 3-5-1, 3.27, .880. He also has appeared in two NHL games with the Carolina Hurricanes. Perets won an NCAA Frozen Four Championship with Quinnipiac University in 2023 and set an NCAA record with a 1.17 goals-against average as a freshman in 2021-22 on his way to an amazing 21 career shutouts in just two seasons.

Petruzzelli, 27, is a 6’5″ goaltender from Wilbraham, MA out of Quinnipiac University. He did not play in any games with the Phantoms this season but appeared in six games with Lehigh Valley last year going 3-3-0, 3.21, .887. The fifth-year pro played in 39 games with Reading going 17-16-6, 2.59, .912. Petruzzelli has played in 53 career AHL games with Toronto and Lehigh Valley going 25-20-4, 3.17, .895.

Meehan, 25, is a first-year defenseman out of UMass-Lowell who has played in five games with the Phantoms this season. He finished tops on the Reading Royals in scoring with 12-34-46 in 69 games and earned ECHL All-Rookie team honors.

McLaughlin, 23, signed with the Phantoms after completing his four-year collegiate career at Boston University and the University of North Dakota. The Phoenixville, PA native was a seventh-round selection of the Flyers in 2021. He made his pro debut with Reading on March 20 and scored his first pro goal on March 28 against Wheeling. He has scored three goals with five assists in 13 games with the Reading Royals. This season with Boston University, he scored 5-12-17 in 34 games. He scored 25-76-101 in his NCAA career encompassing 148 games over three seasons at North Dakota and one season at Boston.

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