Andrej Podkonický is a Slovak

Slovakia

The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...

 ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 player, currently playing for HC Bílí Tygři Liberec

HC Bílí Tygri Liberec

HC Bílí Tygři Liberec , sometimes called the "Tigers", is an ice hockey team in the Czech Extraliga. Their home arena is Tipsport Arena in Liberec...

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Podkonický was drafteed 196th overall by the St. Louis Blues in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft

1996 NHL Entry Draft

The 1996 NHL Entry Draft was held at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri, on June 22, 1996.- Selections by round :Club teams are located in North America unless otherwise noted.- Round one :- Round two :...

. After two seasons with the American Hockey League

American Hockey League

The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...

's Worcester IceCats

Worcester IceCats

The Worcester IceCats were an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA at the Worcester Centrum...

, he was traded to the Florida Panthers

Florida Panthers

The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in Sunrise, Florida, in the Miami metropolitan area. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . They play their games at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise and are the...

 for Eric Boguniecki

Eric Boguniecki

Eric Boguniecki is an assistant coach for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the AHL.- Playing career :Drafted 193rd overall in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft by the St. Louis Blues, Boguniecki's scoring ability in the minor leagues led to him being signed as a free agent by the Florida Panthers in 1999. ...

 on December 17, 2000 and played six games for the Panthers during the 2000–01 NHL season, scoring one goal. Podkonický then moved to Europe and played for HIFK

HIFK

Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna i Helsingfors is a sports club from Helsinki, Finland. Formed in 1897 HIFK is the oldest IFK club in Finland. The club has activities in many sports, including football, ice hockey, bandy, floorball, handball, athletics and bowling. HIFK Soccer ry is part of the...

 in Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

's SM-liiga

SM-liiga

The SM-liiga is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. As of March 2008, it is ranked by the IIHF as the second strongest league in Europe. It was created in 1975 to replace the SM-sarja, which was fundamentally an amateur league. The SM-liiga is not directly overseen by the Finnish Ice...

, HC Slovan Bratislava

HC Slovan Bratislava

Hockey Club Slovan Bratislava is a professional ice hockey team in the Slovak Extraliga from the Slovak capital Bratislava. They play their home games at Samsung Arena....

 in the Slovak Extraliga

Slovak Extraliga

Slovak Extraliga is the name of the highest-level ice hockey league in Slovakia. As of 2009, it is ranked by the IIHF as the fifth strongest league in Europe. The name of the league is leased to sponsor and changes frequently. From 1993/94 to 1997/98 season it was called Extraliga, then the name...

 and the Iserlohn Roosters

Iserlohn Roosters

The Iserlohn Roosters are a professional ice hockey team based in Iserlohn, North-Rhine-Westphalia. They are members of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga since 2000 and play their home games at the Eissporthalle Iserlohn which is also known as Eissporthalle am Seilersee. Playing nine years in the DEL the...

 in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

's Deutsche Eishockey Liga. He signed with the Washington Capitals

Washington Capitals

The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Since their founding in 1974, "The Caps" have won one conference championship to reach the 1998 Stanley Cup...

 in 2003 and was assigned to the AHL's Portland Pirates

Portland Pirates

The Portland Pirates is a minor professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They are the top affiliate of the Phoenix Coyotes of the National Hockey League. They play in the Cumberland County Civic Center in downtown Portland, Maine. The franchise was previously known as the...

, playing just two games for the Capitals. Podkonický then moved back to the Czech Republic and signed for HC Bílí Tygři Liberec. He spent the 2007–08 season in Russia for Vityaz Chekhov

Vityaz Chekhov

Hockey Club Vityaz is a professional ice hockey team based in Chekhov, Moscow, Russia. They are members of the Tarasov Division of the Kontinental Hockey League and are currently coached by former National Hockey League enforcer Andrei Nazarov...

 before returning to Liberec.

He played for Slovakia at the 2007

2007 IIHF World Championship

The 2007 IIHF World Championship were held between April 27 and May 13, 2007 in Moscow, Russia. It was the 71st annual world championship event run by the International Ice Hockey Federation...

 and 2008 IIHF World Championship

2008 IIHF World Championship

The 2008 IIHF World Championship was played between May 2 and May 18, 2008 in the Canadian cities of Halifax and Quebec City . The two venues were the Halifax Metro Centre and the Colisée Pepsi...

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