Hockey knight in Asia
Hockey knight in Asia
Ex-Oiler Shjon Podein brings western savvy to Far East league
Like a wandering knight-errant of old, former Edmonton Oiler and 10-year NHL veteran Shjon Podein is roaming far from home in search of not-so-chivalrous adventure.
Based in the picturesque Japanese city of Nikko, he sallies forth on weekly crusades to test his mettle against Vikings, Dragons and Lions - not to mention the usual challenges of a new culture and new language.
Welcome to the Asia Hockey League, where Podein, who scored exactly 100 goals in 699 NHL games with the Oilers, Philadelphia Flyers, Colorado Avalanche and St. Louis Blues, is getting a first-hand look at the planet’s fastest-growing hockey market as player-coach of the Nikko Kobe Ice Bucks.
With four teams in Japan, three in China and two in South Korea, the two-year-old AHL is experiencing some growing pains, but that’s half the fun, according to Podein.
More: slam.canoe.ca