Peter Bondra Peter Bondra Birthplace Lutsk, Ukraine Birthdate February 7, 1968 Drafted 1990 NHL Entry Draft Washington Capitals 8th Round 156 Overall Position Right Wing Shoots Left Current Team Atlanta Thrashers (NHL) Peter Bondra, #12 (#10 while with the Ottawa Senators in the 2003-2004 NHL season) is a Slovak professional hockey player born on February 7, 1968 in Luck in the U.S.S.R., now in Ukraine. When he was 3 years old, his family moved to Poprad in Czechoslovakia, now Slovakia. He played for hockey teams of Poprad and four seasons with TJ VSŽ Košice (now called HC Košice). He has recently signed with the Atlanta Thrashers, but has spent almost all of his NHL career with the Washington Capitals. Over his career, he has been renowned for his exceptional skills. Over 14 years with the Capitals, he has scored over 450 career goals (placing him - at the time of this writing - at 47th on the all-time list) and has racked up almost 350 career assists. For his goal-scoring ability, he is nicknamed "Bonzai" and occasionally "The Slovakian Sniper" (for instance, he once scored a goal by shooting the puck off the glass boards behind the goal, which in turn bounced off the back of the attending goalie and into the net). During the 1994-1995 (with 34 in a strike-shortened season) and 1997-1998 seasons (with 52), he led the league in goals scored. In 2004, while the Capitals were enduring a disappointing season, he was traded to the Ottawa Senators for Brooks Laich and a second round draft pick.
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 Kolzig, beat him by a mere 20 votes.
Bondra has represented Slovakia on four occasions in international competition, including the 1998 Winter Olympics, the 1996 World Cup of Hockey and the Ice Hockey World Championships in 2002 and 2003. He scored a tournament-leading seven goals and ranked third among all players with nine points to lead Slovakia to the gold medal at the 2002 World Championships. He notched five points (three goals, two assists) in eight games to help Slovakia earn the bronze medal at the 2003 World Championships.
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 possibly rejoin the Capitals. He ended up signing with the Atlanta Thrashers.
Peter is married to his wife Luba, they have a daughter Petra and two sons, David & Nicholas.
