Peter Bondra
| Peter Bondra | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
February 7, 1968 Lutsk, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb) | ||
| Position | Right wing | ||
| Played for |
Washington Capitals Ottawa Senators Atlanta Thrashers Chicago Blackhawks | ||
| National team |
 Slovakia | ||
| NHL draft |
156th overall, 1990 Washington Capitals | ||
| Playing career | 1986–2007 | ||
Peter Bondra (born February 7, 1968) is a former Slovak professional ice hockey player, who is currently the general manager of the Slovak national team.[1] Bondra became the 37th player in NHL history to score 500 NHL goals.
Life and family
When Bondra was three years old, his father moved with the family back to Czechoslovakia from Lutsk, Ukraine, where he had moved in 1947 in order to seek better work. From 1982, Bondra and his older brothers, Vladimír and Juraj, were raised by their mother Nadežda as their father had died in that year. He was still a Soviet citizen when he arrived in the United States, later obtaining a Slovak passport and citizenship in 1993. Currently, Bondra and his wife Luba, as well as their daughter Petra and two sons, David and Nick, reside in Riva, Maryland. His son David is a forward for the Chicago Steel. His other son Nick is playing for the Metro Maple Leafs U18 AA.
Playing career
Bondra was drafted by the Capitals in 1990, 156th overall. Before joining the Capitals he played for TJ VSŽ Košice (now called HC Košice) for four seasons from 1986-90 in Czechoslovakia. In Washington, Bondra became one of the more prolific goal-scorers of the 1990s. His deepest playoff run came in 1997–98, when the Capitals advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals before being swept by Detroit. In the 2004 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. 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 became choked up.[2]
In 14 years with the Capitals, he scored 472 goals and racked up 353 assists in 961 games. He holds Capitals team records in goals (472), points (825), power-play goals (137), game-winning goals (73), short-handed goals (32) and hat tricks (19). With the Caps he appeared in five all-star games (1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 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 Kölzig, beat him by only 20 votes.
During the 1994-1995 (with 34 in a lockout-shortened season) and 1997–1998 seasons (with 52), Bondra led the league in goals scored.
After the 2004-2005 NHL season was canceled due to the NHL labor dispute, Bondra played a handful of games with HK Tatravagónka ŠKP Poprad of the Slovak Extraliga. Prior to the 2005-2006 NHL season, Bondra was in talks to rejoin the Capitals. He ended up signing with the Atlanta Thrashers.
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-Sébastien 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 as a Chicago 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.[1]
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PP | SH | GW | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1986–87 | TJ VSŽ Košice | CSSR | 32 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | TJ VSŽ Košice | CSSR | 45 | 27 | 11 | 38 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1988–89 | TJ VSŽ Košice | CSSR | 40 | 30 | 10 | 40 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | TJ VSŽ Košice | CSSR | 49 | 36 | 19 | 55 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 54 | 12 | 16 | 28 | 47 | -10 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1991–92 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 71 | 28 | 28 | 56 | 42 | +16 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 4 | ||
| 1992–93 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 83 | 37 | 48 | 85 | 70 | +8 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 | ||
| 1993–94 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 69 | 24 | 19 | 43 | 40 | +22 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 4 | ||
| 1994–95 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 47 | 34 | 9 | 43 | 24 | +9 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 10 | ||
| 1995–96 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 67 | 52 | 28 | 80 | 40 | +18 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 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 | +7 | 10 | 4 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 76 | 52 | 26 | 78 | 44 | +14 | 11 | 5 | 13 | 17 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 12 | ||
| 1998–99 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 66 | 31 | 24 | 55 | 56 | -1 | 6 | 3 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–00 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 62 | 21 | 17 | 38 | 30 | +5 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2000–01 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 82 | 45 | 36 | 81 | 60 | +8 | 22 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2001–02 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 77 | 39 | 31 | 70 | 80 | -2 | 17 | 1 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 76 | 30 | 26 | 56 | 52 | -3 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 8 | ||
| 2003–04 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 54 | 21 | 14 | 35 | 22 | -17 | 12 | 0 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 23 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 16 | +1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 2004–05 | HK ŠKP Poprad | SVK | 6 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 60 | 21 | 18 | 39 | 40 | -3 | 8 | 0 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 37 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 14 | +2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 1081 | 503 | 389 | 892 | 749 | +74 | 149 | 32 | 78 | 80 | 30 | 26 | 56 | 60 | ||||
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.
See also
- List of NHL players with 1000 games played
- List of NHL players with 500 goals
- List of players with five or more goals in an NHL game
- Slovaks in the NHL
References
External links
- 1968 births
- Atlanta Thrashers players
- Chicago Blackhawks players
- Detroit Vipers players
- Ice hockey players at the 2002 Winter Olympics
- Ice hockey players at the 2006 Winter Olympics
- Living people
- National Hockey League All-Stars
- National Hockey League players with 50 goal seasons
- Olympic ice hockey players of Slovakia
- Ottawa Senators players
- Slovak ice hockey players
- Washington Capitals players