Peter Bondra

Peter Bondra Biography

Peter Bondra (born February 7, 1968) is a Slovak former professional ice hockey player. He was the general manager of the Slovakia national team from 2007 to 2011. A two-time 50-goal scorer, Bondra became the 37th player in National Hockey League (NHL) history to score 500 NHL goals.

Life and family

Bondra was born in 1968 in Lutsk, Ukraine, then in the Soviet Union. Bondra's father (a Rusyn) had moved to Lutsk from Poprad, Czechoslovakia, when he was 16, and where he met his wife (a Pole). The parents moved with Peter and his two older brothers, Juraj and Vladimr, to Poprad when Peter was three years old. His father died in 1982.

Bondra was a Soviet citizen when he arrived in the United States, later obtaining a Slovak passport and citizenship in 1994. Currently, Bondra and his wife Luba, as well as their daughter Petra and two sons, David and Nick, reside in Riva, Maryland, and has participated in multiple alumni games and appearances with the current Capitals organization. His son David is a forward at Michigan State University for the Spartans men's ice hockey team. His other son, Nick, is playing for the Little Caps U18 AAA National championship bound team.

Playing career

Early career

Bondra played one season for HK Poprad in the lower ranks of Czechoslovak league competition, and transferred to VS Koice in the First Division at the age of 18. His older brother Juraj also played there on defense, having already won one championship title with the team the year before. As early as his second season with Koice, Peter was considered one of the top shooters in the Czechoslovak league, and won the league championship together with his brother in 1988.

National Hockey League

Bondra was drafted by the Washington Capitals in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft, 156th overall. Before joining the Capitals, he played for TJ VS Koice (now called HC Koice) for four seasons from 1986 to 1990 in Czechoslovakia. In Washington, Bondra became one of the more prolific goal-scorers of the 1990s. Due to the language barrier, he became good friends with Ukrainian-born Capitals player Dmitri Khristich, who he spoke with in both Russian and Ukrainian. His deepest playoff run came in 1997-98, when the Capitals advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals before being swept by the Detroit Red Wings. In the 2003-04 season, Bondra's 14th with Washington, the Capitals endured a disappointing year and in a salary purge move traded veteran members of the team to contenders. As a result, Bondra was traded to the Ottawa Senators for Brooks Laich and a second round draft pick. At the press conference announcing this trade, Bondra notably broke into tears.

In 14 years with the Capitals, Bondra scored 472 goals and racked up 353 assists in 961 games. He holds the Capitals team records in short-handed goals (32) and hat tricks (19). With Washington, he appeared in five All-Star Games (1993, 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999). In 1997 and 1999, Bondra won the Fastest Skater Competition on All-Star weekend. In 2004, the Capitals held a vote for fans to determine the top 30 players in franchise history to celebrate their 30th season in the league. Bondra finished second with 2,018 votes. The winner, Olaf Klzig, beat him by only 20 votes.

During the 1994-95 (with 34 in a lockout-shortened season) and 1997-98 seasons (with 52), Bondra led the league in goals scored, although the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy for most goals scored in a season did not exist until the 1998-99 season.

After the 2004-05 NHL season was canceled due to the NHL labor dispute, Bondra played a handful of games with HK Tatravagnka KP Poprad of the Slovak Extraliga. Prior to the 2005-06 season, Bondra was in talks to rejoin the Capitals, though he ended up signing with the Atlanta Thrashers for one season.

On December 10, Bondra signed a one-year contract with the Chicago Blackhawks. On December 22, 2006, he scored his 500th NHL career goal at the United Center, in Chicago's 3-1 victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Bondra drove to the net and netted the rebound of Jassen Cullimore's shot from the left point past Toronto's Jean-Sbastien Aubin, 6:37 into the third period on the power play. Bondra was the 37th player in league history to reach the 500-goal mark and the fourth player to record his 500th goal in a Blackhawks sweater, joining Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita and Michel Goulet.

On October 29, 2007, Bondra announced his retirement from professional hockey at the age of 39. Since retirement, Bondra has represented Colosseo USA, a Slovak company that makes custom video scoreboards.

International play

}}

Bondra has represented Slovakia on seven occasions in international competition, including the 1994 Winter Olympics qualifying tournament, the 1998 Winter Olympics, the 2006 Winter Olympics, the 1996 World Cup of Hockey and the Ice Hockey World Championship in 2002 and 2003. He scored a tournament-leading seven goals (including the tournament-winning goal) and ranked third among all players with nine points to lead Slovakia 4-3 over Russia to the gold medal at the 2002 World Championship. He notched five points (three goals, two assists) in eight games to help Slovakia earn the bronze medal at the 2003 World Championship. Overall, he played 47 games and scored 35 goals for Slovakia.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

			Regular season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1986-87	TJ VS Koice	CSSR	32	4	5	9	24	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?
1987-88	TJ VS Koice	CSSR	45	27	11	38	20	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?
1988-89	TJ VS Koice	CSSR	40	30	10	40	20	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?
1989-90	TJ VS Koice	CSSR	49	36	19	55	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?
1990-91	Washington Capitals	NHL	54	12	16	28	47	4	0	1	1	2
1991-92	Washington Capitals	NHL	71	28	28	56	42	7	6	2	8	4
1992-93	Washington Capitals	NHL	83	37	48	85	70	6	0	6	6	0
1993-94	Washington Capitals	NHL	69	24	19	43	40	9	2	4	6	4
1994-95	Washington Capitals	NHL	47	34	9	43	24	7	5	3	8	10
1995-96	Washington Capitals	NHL	67	52	28	80	40	6	3	2	5	8
1995-96	Detroit Vipers	IHL	7	8	1	9	0	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?
1996-97	Washington Capitals	NHL	77	46	31	77	72	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?
1997-98	Washington Capitals	NHL	76	52	26	78	44	17	7	5	12	12
1998-99	Washington Capitals	NHL	66	31	24	55	56	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?
1999-00	Washington Capitals	NHL	62	21	17	38	30	5	1	1	2	4
2000-01	Washington Capitals	NHL	82	45	36	81	60	6	2	0	2	2
2001-02	Washington Capitals	NHL	77	39	31	70	80	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?
2002-03	Washington Capitals	NHL	76	30	26	56	52	6	4	2	6	8
2003-04	Washington Capitals	NHL	54	21	14	35	22	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?
2003-04	Ottawa Senators	NHL	23	5	9	14	16	7	0	0	0	6
2004-05	HK KP Poprad	Slovak	6	4	2	6	4	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?
2005-06	Atlanta Thrashers	NHL	60	21	18	39	40	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?
2006-07	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	37	5	9	14	14	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?
NHL totals			1081	503	389	892	749	80	30	26	56	60

International

Year	Team	Event	Result	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1996	Slovakia	WCH	7th	3	3	0	3	2
1998	Slovakia	OG	10th	2	1	0	1	25
2002	Slovakia	WC		9	7	2	9	20
2003	Slovakia	WC		8	3	2	5	6
2006	Slovakia	OG	5th	6	4	0	4	2
Senior totals				28	18	4	22	55

Awards and honours

Award	Year
NHL
All-Star Game	1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999
Maurice Richard Trophy	1998
International
All-Star Team	2002