UKRAINIAN PRO HOCKEY UPDATE (04/07/02)

UKRAINIAN PRO HOCKEY UPDATE

by Ihor Stelmach

Caps winger Bondra reflects on All-Star hockey experience

To Washington's Ukraine-born right winger Peter Bondra, the annual NHL All-Star Game is Christmas and New Year's Day all rolled into one.

"It's a holiday of hockey," said Bondra, who has made five All-Star game appearances.

The excitement of participating in the league's showcase game still hasn't worn off a player selected in the eighth round of the 1990 NHL Entry Draft. From meeting celebrities and legends of hockey to attending dinners and parties, to competing in the skills competition, to the game itself, the All-Star experience means a really packed weekend.

"It feels great to be singled out as one of the best players in the game," he said. "It's like a reward. It's something special and always such an honor to be there. For me, it's a close second to the Stanley Cup Finals."

Meeting Hall of Famers and playing with future ones excites Bondra the most. He's talked hockey with Gordie Howe a couple of times. Bondra even ran into Boston Bruin immortal Bobby Orr in a hallway before his first appearance in 1993. He only knew Orr from highlight films.

Orr "approached me in the hallway and he knew my name," Bondra recalled. "I was shocked. I just kind of had my eyes wide open."

Bondra is much better acquainted with players like Mario Lemieux, Scott Stevens and Paul Coffey, all of whom have given Washington fits in the playoffs. One game a year, though, they're Bondra's teammates. He faced Wayne Gretzky on the other side.

"You have a chance to go out there and meet all the good players you compete against that you don't know personally," he said. "It's great for hockey."

Bondra played with Jaromir Jagr in four All-Star Games: 1993 in Montreal, 1996 in Boston, 1998 in Vancouver and 1999 in Tampa Bay. That fact helped the two quickly become friends when Pittsburgh traded Jagr to the Capitals last July.

Both men grew up in the former Czecho-Slovakia, and Bondra has driven Jagr - the only player entering the current season with more goals since 1993 than Bondra - to a number of practices and games to ease his transition.

"I got a chance to know Jaromir in the last couple of All-Star Games," he said. "This way, you know him a little better. I had a chance to sit down and talk to him, to see what he does in the games, and to chat about it."

Of course, it's one thing to simply appear in a game. It's entirely different to help determine the eventual outcome. Bondra has certainly made his presence felt, and in more than one game.

He skated on a line with former New York Ranger Mike Gartner in 1993, when Gartner won Most Valuable Player honors by scoring four goals. Bondra contributed a goal and an assist as Adam Oates centered them in the East's 16-6 victory that year.

In 1997 Bondra skated with Eric Lindros and John LeClair, two-thirds of Philadelphia's Legion of Doom line, and he recorded two assists, as the East won handily, 11-7.

Prior to the 1998 game, the NHL changed its All-Star format from East versus West to North America against the World. It's a change Bondra endorsed.

"I like the new format," he said. "The game became more challenging. It's a little tighter."

All-Star Games are typically higher scoring than regular season and playoff games, a fact that doesn't bother the sniper Bondra.

"I would say it's more exciting for the fans," he said. "It's more fun than a regular game. Nobody is going to change the style to commit to defense."

Bondra also has done well in the skills competitions, winning the fastest skater award twice, in 1997 and 1999, and finishing second in 1998 to New Jersey's Scott Niedermayer.

"In a race like that, it's a split second that makes a difference," said Bondra, who has also participated in the hardest shot competition. "You can't have a bad start or a missed step."

The game attracts more than just hockey stars, and Bondra likes it that way. It's his chance to rub elbows with the elites of music, movies and television, artists such as singers Alanis Morrissette and Bryan Adams, actors Tim Robbins and Dennis Leary, and sitcom heavyweights Michael J. Fox and Matthew Perry.

"You have a chance to meet all kinds of people," he said. "I met some big-time actors and movie stars. They participate in the games, too. It's really nice."

The big-name entertainers are part of the hype that surrounds All-Star week. Even the players get swept up in it, and Bondra admits he's not immune.

"You go for dinner and you go to the parties," he said.

They also give a lot of interviews. When Bondra played in the Stanley Cup Finals in 1998, there were some 500 reporters covering hockey's championship games. To him, it seems like there's more at NHL All-Star Games.

"I couldn't believe it," he explained. "I was overwhelmed. In the morning, during the day and when you play the game, you have to go up into the stands and talk to different people. It's fun to see what kind of interest you draw."

If sharpshooting Peter Bondra is anywhere near an ice rink, rest assured things will be very interesting. Very interesting, indeed.

UKRAINIAN NHL REPORT CARDS

OLEG TVERDOVSKY - C: Has struggled to fit into new coach Bryan Murray's system.

VITALY VISHNEVSKl - C: Career progress slowed in third season

TONY HRKAC - B+: Lone veteran who has fulfilled expectations on lowly club.

DARCY HORDICHUK - C: Started poorly, played better while temporarily serving enforcer role.

ALEXEI ZHITNIK - A: Showing more discipline and getting two-way results consistently.

RICHARD MATVICHUK - B: Dug himself out of deep early season plus-minus hole.

BRAD LUKOWICH - C: Hasn't followed up on breakthrough season of last year.

JOEY TETARENKO - C: Willing pugilist/grinder with limited NHL skills.

DENIS SHVIDKI - Incomplete. Injuries and demotion for ice time in minors.

KEN DANEYKO - C+: Injuries and age catching up to this lifetime Devil loyalist.

CURTIS LESCHYSHYN - B: Shows solid veteran leadership on ice and in dressing room.

RUSLAN FEDOTENKO - B: Gaining confidence around net as double-digit goal total will attest.

TODD FEDORUK - C: Physical player, but must stay away from bad penalties that might hurt team.

DRAKE BEREHOWSKY - C: Brought in from Vancouver to add veteran blueline depth.

KEITH TKACHUK - A: In best shape of career and definitely playing like it.

SERGEI VARLAMOV - B: Keeps providing reasons for more ice time.

DAVE ANDREYCHUK - B: Leadership in locker room for young club has been huge.

WADE BELAK - C: Versatile tough guy who flips between defense and wing who can duke it out.

PETER BONDRA - A: Boundless energy, power play sharpshooter.

ANDREI NIKOLISHIN - A: Tough, gritty, good passer and team leader.

DMITRI KHRISTICH - C: Starting to show a desire to be good again.

STEVE KONOWALCHUK - Incomplete. Injured. His return should spark team big time.

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