Andrej Podkonicky was born May 9, 1978 in Zvolen, Czech Republic. The eighth round, 196th overall selection of the St. Louis Blues in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft, Podkonicky came to North America in 1996 and joined the WHL's Portland Winter Hawks.
An offensively gifted forward with size, the Zvolen native played two seasons in the WHL before making his professional debut with the Blues AHL affiliate in Worcester in 1998. After parts of three seasons in the Blues organization, Podkonicky was traded to the Florida Panthers in the early stages of the 2000-01 season. Upon his arrival in Florida, Podkonicky was assigned to the team's AHL affiliate in Louisville and impressed the Panthers brass enough to warrant a six game stint with the parent club during the season.
Following a partial season with the Panthers, Podkonicky decided to return overseas and over the next three seasons suited up for teams in Finland, Slovakia and Germany. While overseas, the Washington Capitals signed the former Portland junior in the summer of 2002 and in the summer of 2003 opted to return to North America. Upon his return, Podkonicky saw action in two games with Washington, while spending the majority of the season with the club's AHL affiliate in Portland.
On the international stage, Podkonicky represented Slovakia at the 1998 World Junior Championships.
