[eleven24]

Definately one of my favorite players to ever wear the O&B. While he didn't have all of the talent in the world, he played every shift like it was his last.

Here's a good article on Podes, taken from ESPN.com....

Perhaps the most indelible image was seeing Shjon Podein walk into the restaurant in full equipment. From head to toe, he had on what he had on when the buzzer sounded on Game 7 and the Avs won the Cup over the Devils a few hours before.

So, for this week's Great 8, I called Shjon's cell phone. He wasn't there. "Podes" changes his voice mail greeting almost everyday. This is the message left, word for word, on his voice mail when I called him on Monday:

"I'm in the bathroom just before the start of the Anheuser-Busch Brewery tour. Now, I'm not sure what might happen inside these walls, but you might not be seeing me for an AWFULLY LONG TIME. And if you get a little nervous or worried. Don't. Please, don't come looking for me. I'll be just fine."

Podes called back after his tour.

No. 1: What was the Anheuser-Busch Brewery Plant tour like and what did you learn?
Podein: You think there is a heaven on earth and then you go there and you know there is. I needed some time to really soak it in and I don't mean the building. The best part was the sample room at the end. I didn't think six hours in the sample room was that big a deal. Nothing like tasting beer made that day. I've never had a bad beer, but this was one of the top ones.

Shjon was born March 5, 1968, in Rochester, Minn.

No. 2: Are you retiring from the NHL?
Podein: I wanted to play this year out and see where it ended up. We'll see how things pan out in the next weeks and months.

"Podes" played college hockey at Minnesota-Duluth

No. 3: Why were you and the Blues unable to close out the Canucks after being up 3-1?
Podein: With a team like Vancouver, we did not take advantage of our opportunities in Games 5 and 6, and as the series went on they got better. We didn't finish them off when we had the chance. They started getting confidence and started rolling.

If Shjon does retire this summer, he will retire with exactly 100 goals. His 100th goal was against Marty Turco on March 23.

No. 4: Tell me about your charity event in the summer.
Podein: It's a rock concert/golf event. Good times. Sunday night rock concert with G.B. Leighton. Monday golf. It all goes to the Shjon Podein Children's Foundation in Rochester, Minn. This is our sixth year. We've grown from $25,000 to $250,000.

Shjon was an eighth-round pick of the Oilers in the 1988 draft. He played 68 games with the Oilers, 301 games with the Flyers, 239 with the Avalanche and 91 with the Blues.

No. 5: How long did you keep your equipment on after the Avs won the Stanley Cup in 2001?
Podein: Twenty-five hours. After the game, we were having a few beers in the locker room and before I realized it, everyone had showered. One of the wives dared me to go to the party at the Chop House in my gear. That wasn't much of a dare. When I got there, Barry Melrose said that he wasn't impressed. He said he played with a guy in Adirondack who wore his equipment for 24 hours. So, since I'm like a 10-year-old kid, I took it as a double dare and wore my stuff for 25 hours. I still have signed receipts and pictures and I'm gonna put it all on a plaque and send it to Barry one of these days.

Podes won the King Clancy Memorial Trophy in 2001. It's given to the player who's a leader on and off the ice and has made contributions to the community.

No. 6: What's the most unique thing you've done on road trips?
Podein: Grabbing a cab at 2:20 in the morning and go through the winding streets and over the Golden Gate Bridge with a cab driver named Haji. Or going fishing at 6:30 in the morning with a cab driver in South Florida. Cab drivers have become good friends of mine throughout the years.

Shjon is a career plus-62 and has worn CCMs his whole career.

No. 7: Are you afraid of retirement?
Podein: No, I just want to leave the game at the right time, not too late and not too early. I have lots of interests. I have a little recording business I want to grow and work with small bands. I also want my charity work to grow. But my dream job is bartender/beer truck delivery guy back in Minneapolis.

Podes had one penalty shot opportunity in his career. He missed against Marc Denis in a 5-1 Avalanche win over the Blue Jackets on Dec. 12, 2001.

No. 8: If you picked me up at the airport tomorrow in St. Louis at 11a.m., what would we do?
Podein: (Laughing) We'd first go for a nice little breakfast at the South City Diner. Then we'd go for a couple little cocktails at Johnny's. Then we'd go to a Cardinals game and get a big dog and relax. Then we'd head to Blueberry Hill, Chuck Berry's place at University City and hang out outside. We'd go to dinner at Paul Mannos, the best Italian restaurant in my 13 years of travel. Then we'd have a couple beers at J. McGraw's and have Rick take care of us for the evening.

God bless Rick. God bless Podes. God bless America.

[Jlg-28]

pods played the game the right way, come back and visit Philly sometime

[Drew]

Such a class act. I wish he NEVER left Philly.

[Scrooge]

I always liked Pods. I have an autographed photo of him in a bin of hockey stuff somewhere. Kinda makes me wanna dig it out.