A former pro athlete has joined the BSM community as the new BSM girls’ hockey coach: Shjon Podein.

Podein started playing hockey when he was five years old, and since then has always had a love for the game. He played high school hokcey in Rochester, Minnesota and then went on to attend college at UMD. Following his graduation, Shjon played professionally for 16 years (2 years in the minors in Nova Scotia,11 NHL, and 3 overseas in Sweden and Japan).

After playing for several years, Shjon decided that coaching was the next step in his life. His first year of player/coaching was in Japan in 2006. He then went on to coach mites, squirts, peewees, and high school boys’ hockey.

Now, Podein is the new coach for Benilde-St. Margaret’s girls’ hockey team. Podein plans on giving the players the best experience he can: “I want give the girls a highly expectant and positive experience and hopefully be there to help them grow as young ladies,” Podein said.

He plans on using these coaching techniques to help him and his team achieve the ultimate goal of a successful season. “Attitude and effort are huge. [Having a] caring and trustworthy teammate, making mistakes, learning from them, and aggressiveness is a a high end skill,” Podein said.

The hockey players are looking forward for the upcoming season with the new coach. “He makes it seem like there’s going to be big changes in the program,” senior Sammy Deterding said. They are hopeful that with Podein’s presence, the hockey program will improve overall.  

The girls are all eager to get to know their coach better and find out what qualities he will bring to the hockey team. They are seeking a successful season, and believe it is achievable with the new coaching styles and techniques. “Coach Podein is very positive and motivating, which improves the overall atmosphere,” senior Mandy Nylander said.

Coach Podein strives to do anything he can to improve the team’s skill. “He uses constructive criticism which helps us know what we need to work on. He also loves using hashtags,” Deterding said. With a new coach and team of talented players, the girls are destined for success this season.