How did it all start?
A little over seven years ago, I met a brother and sister who have Ataxia Telangiectasia at a golf tournament in Rochester. Sherry and I ended up dancing the whole night with Brian & Jessica and we just fell in love with them. They are the reason we started the children's foundation. Over the years, we have donated money towards finding a cure for Ataxia Telangiectasia, a disease that is like having Cystic Fibrosis, Cerebral Palsy, immune deficiencies, Muscular Dystrophy and cancer all together. But so many people have joined Team25 that we have been able to expand our mission and now we are helping many more kids in a lot of different ways.
– Shjon Podein
Brian Christensen
"Captain"
April 27, 1978-May 22, 2008
You were our inspiration
in the beginning and
you will continue to lead us.
Shjon's Biography
Shjon Walter Podein grew up in Rochester, Minnesota USA. He was born on March 5, 1968 to Jerre and Walter Podein. Shjon is the oldest of three Podein boys, brother Rian was born three years later and then KC who is six years younger. He started playing hockey at five on the outdoor rinks in Rochester. Off-season he played youth soccer to help him become a better hockey player. His greatest hockey memory was watching the US Hockey Team win the gold medal at Lake Placid in 1980.
Shjon played high school hockey for the Rochester John Marshall Rockets, graduating in 1986. He played a year of junior hockey in his hometown with the Rochester Mustangs (see if you can find the dorky picture on this page) while attending classes at the University of Minnesota Duluth. During the week Shjon attended classes and practiced hockey with the Duluth Bulldogs, but when Friday rolled around he made the four-hour drive back to Rochester to play the weekend series with the Mustangs and then back to Duluth on Sunday night. One must consider, if you're not from Minnesota.it gets cold here!!! Driving four hours at 77 below wind chill in a 1977 Vega with NO HEATER was a drag to say the least. He played the next three seasons with the Bulldogs and graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Communications in the Spring of 1990.
Over the next fourteen years Shjon has played in the NHL for the Edmonton Oilers, Philadelphia Flyers, Colorado Avalanche and the St. Louis Blues. In August of 1997, while playing for the Flyers, Shjon married Sherry, also a Minnesota native, in Minneapolis. The couple is known for their charity work - while living in Philly they adopted Little Buddy, a lab mix. Shjon describes her as "Santa's little helper from the Simpsons, but black." After moving to Colorado, Shjon and Sherry opened there home to many dogs as Sherry helped start and run Starfire Dog Adoption - a shelter which finds loving homes for dogs whos' owners are no longer able to care for them do to entering a nursing home or hospice. Shjon also served as spokesman for the Denver Post Newspapers in Education Program, Learning is the Goal and supports the Read Team program. Shjon made numerous appearances at local schools to promote education and emphasize to students the need to take pride in your work, be a team player, and respect those around you. Shjon loves reading to kids and makes great sound effects, even some that are in the story. Shjon was also spokesman for the NHL Cool School program in 2001. He helped create a student activity guide, made personal appearances on behalf of the program, and again made cool sound effects.
It was also in 1997 that Shjon and Sherry founded the Shjon Podein Children's Foundation to help kids facing extraordinary difficulties in their lives. Shjon also became active with two inner-city youth ice hockey programs (Denver Cubs and Minneapolis Dinomights) both program designed to introduce ice hockey to low-income, inner-city children. Shjon became the first NHL player to join the Garth Brooks Teammates For Kids Foundation, a Foundation that contributes monies to non-profits who effectively serve and benefit children in areas of health, education, and inner city services. Shjon is pleased to be an NHL spokesperson for the Teammates for Kids Foundation and is active in recruiting other NHL players to the program. Shjon was recognized by the NHL for his work outside of hockey with the 2001 King Clancy Memorial Trophy. This trophy is awarded "to the player who best exemplifies leadership on and off the ice and who has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution to his community." That same year, he also won the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche!
During the busy summer months in Minnesota, Shjon and his family spend their free time on the water, traveling, and just hanging out with family and friends.