Shjon Walter Podein (born March 5, 1968) is an American former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

left winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

who played 11 seasons in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL) for the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wells ...

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...

and

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the s ...

. He was named the Head High School Hockey Coach at Benilde-St.Margaret's School in St. Louis Park (MN) High School on March 16, 2011. He had been active in the youth program for three years before being named coach.

Playing career

Podein graduated from John Marshall High School in 1986. He then played collegiate hockey with the

University of Minnesota-Duluth A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

in the

WCHA The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is a college athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a women's ice hockey-only conference. From 1951 to 1999, it operated a ...

. After his freshman year, the

drafted him 166th in the

1988 NHL Entry Draft The 1988 NHL Entry Draft was the 26th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Forum in Montreal, Quebec. The last active player in the NHL from this draft class was Teemu Selanne, who retired after the 2013–14 season. Selections by round Below ...

. Podein made his professional debut in the 1990–91 season with the

Cape Breton Oilers The Cape Breton Oilers were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. The team was the top minor league affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Oilers' organization relocated the team from Hali ...

of the AHL. He made his NHL debut in the 1992–93 season with the Oilers but was returned to Cape Breton, where he won the

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its curr ...

. Over the next season Podein saw limited time with the parent club and was signed as a free agent by the

on July 27, 1994. With the Flyers, Podein developed into a penalty-killer and checking forward. Podein played 5 seasons and over 300 games with Philadelphia, and reached the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

finals in 1997, won by the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

. On November 12, 1998, the Flyers traded Podein to the

for Keith Jones. While helping Colorado capture the

in the 2000–01 season, Shjon also scored a career-high 15 goals and equaled his best points total at 32. Shjon is often remembered for wearing his uniform a full 25 hours after winning game 7 of the Stanley Cup final. The Avalanche traded Podein to the

for

Mike Keane Michael John Keane (born May 29, 1967) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger. Undrafted, Keane played over 1,100 games in the National Hockey League from 1988 until 2004. He then played five seasons for his hometown Manitoba Moose ...

on February 11, 2002. Shjon played his last NHL season in 2002–03. He then played in Sweden with

Växjö Lakers Hockey Växjö ( ) is a city and the seat of Växjö Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden. It had 70,489 inhabitants (2019) out of a municipal population of 95,995 (2021). It is the administrative, cultural, and industrial centre of Kronoberg County ...

and finished his career in Japan with the HC Nikko Icebucks. Away from the ice, Shjon set up the "Shjon Podein Children's Foundation". Podein was noted for his dedication to charity work and youth hockey programs. In recognition, Podein received the

King Clancy Memorial Trophy The King Clancy Memorial Trophy is a sports award given annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and who has made a significant humanitarian contribution to his community. The ...

in 2001. Podein did the traditional "Let's play hockey" cheer for the Minnesota Wild game on Feb. 19, 2008, His cousin Gavin wished he could've been there .

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

*
Team25: The Shjon Podein Children's Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Podein, Shjon 1968 births American men's ice hockey left wingers Cape Breton Oilers players Colorado Avalanche players Edmonton Oilers draft picks Edmonton Oilers players Ice hockey players from Minnesota King Clancy Memorial Trophy winners Living people Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockey players Nikkō Ice Bucks players Philadelphia Flyers players Sportspeople from Rochester, Minnesota St. Louis Blues players Stanley Cup champions Växjö Lakers players American people of Norwegian descent