Life and family

Bondra was born in 1968 in Lutsk, Ukraine, then in the Soviet Union. Bondra's father (a Slovak) had moved to Lutsk from Poprad, Czechoslovakia, when he was 16 to gain employment, and where he met his wife (a Pole). After Bondra's father died in 1982, his mother moved Peter and his two older brothers, Juraj and Vladimír, back to Poprad.

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.

Medal record
Representing Slovakia
Ice hockey
World Championships
	2003 Finland
	2002 Sweden

Playing career

Early career

Bondra played one season for HK Poprad in the lower ranks of Czechoslovak league competition, and transferred to VSŽ Košice in the First Division at the age of 18. His older brother Juraj also played there on defense. As early as his second season with Košice, he was considered one of the top shooters in the Czechoslovak league, and won the league championship 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 VSŽ Košice (now called HC Košice) 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 Kölzig, 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 Tatravagónka ŠKP 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-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 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.

Awards

• Selected to five NHL All-Star Games: 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999

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.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]