Su Blog Frozen

Ha invitato la folla domestica nel suo glee ed in questo modo ha consolidato un collegamento carriera-lungo con i ventilatori del ¢ del „ del ¬â del ‚ di Capsââ. A half-inch of plexiglass ever separated Bonzai from them in the Capital Center and then MCI Center, but that physical barrier seemed only conceptual in his hundreds of celebrations over 14 years here.

In recent seasons I’d become distracted from my longstanding appreciation of Bonzai by some insiders’ reflections of intermittent acrimony between Bondra and the Caps as well as my conviction that he never should have worn any sweater but Washington’s. Management and the Bondra didn’t always see eye to eye, with blame likely shared by both sides. This, too, is part of his legacy in Washington. But now that I don’t have him any more, now that I can’t have him any more, I really miss him.

Never can I think of Peter Bondra without having evoked for me, at the warp speed at which he moved, images of his world-class skating. In his prime, over some years, he ranked among the NHL’s half dozen or so fastest skaters. Indeed, twice he won fastest skater competitions at All Star weekend skills events. But what impressed me more than his raw speed was his technical brilliance as a skater.

To watch Peter Bondra skate was to be convinced that he was genetically encoded to be one of the planet’s best skaters. That distinctive Bondra crouch, perfectly balanced, his weight perfectly distributed, locomotive-like in his sturdiness, Acela-like in his blur. Some in hockey believe that the game’s greatest skaters are born that way. Watching Peter Bondra in skates reinforced this theory for me.

This may be an appreciative writer’s embellishment, but my recollection was that public address announcer Wes Johnson placed a bit of an ALL CAPS bit of inflection to Bonzai’s tallies. “CAPITALS GOAL . . . scored by number twelve . . . P-E-T-E-R . . . B-O-N-D-R-AAAAAAAAAAAA !!!!!�

It sure seemed so.

That sigh of relief you may have heard emanate from the American Southeast this week, that came from Tampa Bay. No team was tormented by Bondra quite like Tampa was. The Caps defeated Tampa 6-3 on February 5, 1994. Bondra had five of the goals. There was something about Bondra in February versus Tampa. On February 3, 1999, he aided the Caps’ 10-1 demolishing of the Bolts with four goals.

I liked seeing Bondra, in season, attending his children’s hockey games in the region. I liked better seeing him out on the ice as a parent instructor during youth practices. Imagine the thrill those youths must have experienced, looking up at Peter the Great sharing a sheet of ice with them.

On weekends a few years back I’d sharpen skates at a rink Bondra and his family frequented, and he was fond of coming by and asking if he could put a personalized edge on his son’s skates. Like I was gonna say no. I learned some terrific tricks from him about running blades along the horizontal stone and imparting a consistent razor’s edge on hockey skates. One Sunday at the rink Bondra was there watching one of his kids play while a birthday party was taking place in another portion of the facility. The birthday boy, aged 8, was wearing a Bondra Caps’ jersey and seated at the head of the party table, balloons engulfing him. He had about 12 of his friends in the room with him, and of course lots of parents snapping picture after picture. I went over to the stands where Peter was seated and informed him of what I thought might be a novel visit he could make. Five minutes later I watched as he waltzed into that party room, that goal-scoring smile on his face, and say to the stunned assembly, “Anybody in here a hockey fan?”

More recently I’ve wondered what kind of reception the Capitals had in mind for Peter once he was officially retired. I’m pretty sure I got an answer within hours of Bondra’s announcement this week. In his reflections on Bondra, Capitals’ owner Ted Leonsis noted, “Peter will be welcomed back into the Washington Capitals family.” I thought the speed of Ted’s announcement marvelous. He didn’t allow us time enough even to wonder.

Kind of like Bonzai rushing in from the right wing in full flight.