On Frozen Blog

It was a thrill for me to run into Peter Bondra in the Verizon Center press box Wednesday night, not only because this represented the first time I’d seen him since he’d retired from hockey but because I was so curious about his new role as General Manager for the Slovakian national team, which will compete in the World Championships this spring in Canada, in Halifax and Quebec City. He was gracious enough to answer every question I put to him during the first intermission, and answer my questions with considerable thought and reflection.

But before I could ask my first question, an elated fan partitioned off from the press box but recognizing Peter shouted out to him and secured his attention, with which he appealed to the Caps’ great to come out to the Gardens Ice House in Laurel, Maryland, for some six a.m. pickup hockey during winter weekdays. Here is what you might appreciate knowing about Peter’s passion for playing hockey, today: he scribbled down the times for the ice slots. Peter and his family continue to live in suburban Maryland.

Bondra acknowledged that he was attending last night’s game to take a close look at three Slovakian players: Marek Svatos, Peter Budaj, and Milan Jurcina. Budaj of course didn’t play, but Bondra had plans to talk to him after the game. In his reflections on Jurcina, it was clear that Bondra had watched him play plenty this season.

“Jurcina started playing early in the season for Glen Hanlon 22, 24 minutes, but unfortunately his game came a little bit down because of confidence, but now he’s showing again, playing well, getting ice time, so I think it’s a good time for him.”

Bondra is leading the Slovakian effort in international hockey at a particularly opportune time. When I asked him to identify Slovaks who’d caught his attention with their play in the NHL this season, he smiled widely and ran off a long list of high achievers: “I can name a lot of them . . . Marian Hossa, [Marian] Gaborik, Pavol Demitra, Big Z — Zdeno Chara — . . . we have a good team. There’s a lot of good players but they’re young and they’re [also] experienced, so it’s a good mix.”

I asked him if having this year’s World Championships contested in North America, on NHL-sized sheets, would influence his selection of players.

“You always try to take your best players,” he told me. “But I also think it’s very good to have the championships in North America, it’s great for hockey and it’s good for Canada.

“We are making preparations [for the change]. We adjust, we change our system a little bit, because we are going to play on the small ice. We will try to practice on it and maybe have a few exhibition games.”

His next observation about Slovakia’s approach to these Worlds really caught my attention: “We will try to play American style.” Likely, he meant “North American” style, but perhaps not.

Slovakia will host the Worlds in 2011, and the Slovakian hockey leadership, Bondra told me, was today carefully attempting to identify young Slovakian talent with an eye toward assembling a distinctly strong roster for those games. Bondra’s contract as General Manager is for one year, after which he’ll be reviewed, but he made clear how much he is enjoying the job.

“My number one priority is my family, but after that, if everybody is happy, if both sides are happy, I will be more than happy to continue.”

Regularly during our chat many folks in the press box who recognized Peter came by and interrupted our chat, which was fine by me. George McPhee was talking with Blackhawks’ assistant GM Rick Dudley when the two arrived near us. McPhee, pointing to Bondra, said to the former Tampa GM of the late ’90s, “Remember this guy?”

Bondra deserves a hero’s welcome in Washington’s hockey rink. I concluded my inquires by asking him if being in hockey management helped lessen his missing of playing.

“Exactly, you hit the button. It’s hard playing hockey for so many years and suddenly being away from hockey. This is helping me, coming here, to get something I’m missing. It would be nice to [still] be playing, but . . . my injuries, my body, it was the right choice. Now I enjoy being around my family, I enjoy taking my son to his hockey game.”

“Do you get out on the ice with your children to help with their practices?” I asked as followup.

“Yes — I do I do I do I do!” he exclaimed with beaming smile.