Former NHLer Podein woos RoughRiders

Shjon Podein was multi-tasking in the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders locker room, talking to a reporter and simultaneously tending to his young son. The toe-headed 2-year-old was a whirl of activity, decked out in cute little inflatable goalie pads.

All of the sudden, RoughRiders forward Scott Winkler walked up. Podein stopped tending and talking in mid-sentence, standing and extending a quick hand to the smiling Norwegian.

"There you are," Podein said.

Podein, who spent 10 years as a high-energy forward in the NHL, is still in hockey these days but in a different capacity. He works as a player agent, or in Winkler's case, a "family adviser," since the 19-year-old RoughRider is still an amateur.

The RoughRiders play Game 3 of their first-round USHL playoff series against the Indiana Ice on Wednesday night at 6:35 in Indianapolis. The series is tied, 1-1.

"It's a fun way to stay in the game," said Podein, 41, a Stanley Cup winner as a member of the Colorado Avalanche. "You see the good, the bad, and the ugly."

Podein works for a company called Octagon that represents 150 athletes in all sports, according to its Web site. He has known Winkler's family for awhile, before he was drafted last summer by the NHL's Dallas Stars in the second round.

Winkler is headed to Colorado College to play next season, with a probable professional career still a little ways off.

"I'm pretty much sure," Winkler said, when asked if he planned to stick with Podein when the time comes for him to be his agent instead of his adviser. "He's kind of a new guy in the business. He's a great guy, been through it all. He's won a Stanley Cup."

"Winkler, I first saw him play at the Des Moines (Buccaneers) tryout camp almost two years ago now," Podein said. "Here was this young Norwegian kid. (Former St. Louis Blues teammate) Kelly Chase told me to watch him, so I went to see him play. Then he ended up playing for my old Triple-A (Midget) team in Kansas City ... When he was down there, I got to know him a little better. He's just such a highly skilled kid. You can't teach hands like he's got."

Podein's recent visit to Cedar Rapids wasn't just about keeping up with Winkler. He readily admitted he has an agent-to-be eye on fellow RoughRiders players Paul Phillips and Matt Donovan, whom he was going to take to dinner with Winkler.

Phillips will likely be an NHL draft pick this summer. Donovan was taken last year in the fourth round by the New York Islanders. Both defensemen will play next year for the University of Denver.

"My family has known him for a long time," Phillips said. "He's a really good guy."

"Pauly Phillips, I've been watching ever since he was playing Triple-A, I don't know how many years now," said Podein, who played in the USHL with the Rochester Mustangs. "There's not a more solid leader out there. He's one of those kids that you know is a real good player, but he always gives you more than what you expect him to."

Now that's the talk of a guy who's an agent, isn't it?

"And Matty (Donovan) is a special player, already drafted by the Islanders. He's one of those kids I saw earlier in the year ... He's just one of those guys who can control the pace of the game. There's not many players who can do that ... He's another kid who I think has a bright future in front of him."

Podein was asked if he thought Winkler, Phillips and Donovan all would play in the NHL some day.

"Yeah, I think they'll all get a taste of the pie," he said. "How much? You never know. It's such a long way off ... It is a very hard road, and all these guys are a long way from it. But at the same time, their percentages of making it, I know their work ethics, I know their character, and that adds up to so much behind the scenes. Those kids have a much higher percentage of making it than a lot of other kids."