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Peter Bondra
HockeyBuzz: Talk about the thrill of skating with past greats, some who were your role models.
Peter Bondra: When I grew up, I had two idols. One was Peter Stastny. I was pleased to skate with Peter today. We had a chance to play for Team Slovakia. We go way back.
HB: Which player is like you today?
PB: Who's scoring a lot of goals today? Maybe [I'm] half-Ovy.
He had a good shot; I had a good shot. We played on the same team. He's shooting from the opposite side of the blueline on the power play. He's taking a lot of one-timers there. I was on the other side; Sergei Gonchar or Adam Oates were feeding me.
But I wasn't as powerful as Ovy, of course.
HB: What does Slovakian hockey have to do to return to the top? Years ago, it was you and Ziggy Palffy, Marian Gaborik coming up. But it's been a bit of a dry spell.
PB: At one point, we had over 40 players in the National Hockey League. But now, players are getting older. Satan retired, Visnovsky as well.
What do we have to do?
We're a small county. We've got 10,000 skaters. We're competing on a top level in the Olympics and World Championships against Team Canada or Russia. So I think we're still doing magic there.
We do our best. As you know, you cannot predict talent. Players like Gaborik or Hossa. But we have a good system.
HB: Can you tell me about one of your last hockey stops? It was an interesting one: Atlanta.
PB: It was fun. I have good memories. We had a great team. Just unfortunately, as far as I remember, we had bad luck with the goalies. We had a lot of goalies hurt. Similar situation to what Vegas is dealing with. But I had a good time there. We had a good coach. Good players.
Danielle Goyette
Danielle Goyette, on who she was most excited to play w/ at #HHOF2017 Legends Classic pic.twitter.com/wfDKLpkk86
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) November 13, 2017
Scott Niedermayer
This special Niedermayer jersey is on display at the Hall of Fame:
Blogger • View post on imgur.com
Jim Rutherford
HockeyBuzz: What was the one thing about Mark Recchi which made him a Hall of Famer?
Jim Rutherford: Well, the biggest thing is his determination. When you look at him coming out of junior hockey and where he was drafted and what he's accomplished, you don't get there without that kind of determination.
He had a certain skill level that continued to improve over his career. He got himself in situations where he was with contending teams. He was a guy who could play different roles. He scored big goals at important times.
He clearly made his mark as a hockey player who was special in key situations.
HB: Who's a player on the Penguins now who reminds you of Mark?
JR: I'm not sure. I'm not sure if I have somebody who's 100% like him.
[Bryan] Rust is a guy that people aren't as familiar with. I pick his name out as a guy, when the game's on the line, he uses his foot speed and creates good opportunities.
But I don't think I have anything who I can compare exactly to Mark.
Scott Stevens
I ask Scott Stevens if he ever gets the temptation to hit somebody in these old-timer games #HHOF2017 pic.twitter.com/vObhxrk75i
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) November 13, 2017
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