Poul Popiel

Poul Popiel
Born	(1943-02-28) February 28, 1943 (age 82) Søllested, Denmark
Height	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight	176 lb (80 kg; 12 st 8 lb)
Position	Defence
Shot	Left
Played for	Boston Bruins Los Angeles Kings Detroit Red Wings Vancouver Canucks Houston Aeros Innsbrucker EV Edmonton Oilers
Playing career	1962–1980

Poul Peter Popiel (born February 28, 1943) is a Danish-American former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) and World Hockey Association (WHA), and also served as a head coach in the minor leagues. Following a brief 12 games in the International Hockey League (IHL) with the Muskegon Mohawks, he retired and became the head coach. Popiel and Garry Peters were co-winners of the inaugural Ken McKenzie Trophy as Central Professional Hockey League rookies of the year in 1963-64. His younger brother Jan Popiel is also a former professional hockey player.

Popiel was the first Danish-born player in the National Hockey League. ^[1] Popiel's family moved to Canada in 1951 when he was a child, and subsequently moved to the United States and he acquired American citizenship before making his NHL debut. ^[2]

Awards

• Ken McKenzie Trophy
• Played in WHA All-Star Game (1974, 1975, 1977) ^[3]

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1960–61	St. Catharines Teepees	OHA-Jr.		38	2	9	11	74		3	0	1	1	2
1961–62	St. Catharines Teepees	OHA-Jr.		49	3	16	19	128		6	0	0	0	11
1962–63	St. Catharines Black Hawks	OHA-Jr.		50	11	34	45	131		—	—	—	—	—
1962–63	Buffalo Bisons	AHL		2	0	1	1	2		—	—	—	—	—
1963–64	St. Louis Braves	CPHL		54	9	14	23	78		6	0	1	1	17
1963–64	Buffalo Bisons	AHL		4	0	0	0	4		—	—	—	—	—
1964–65	Buffalo Bisons	AHL		48	7	12	19	76		9	0	1	1	29
1965–66	Hershey Bears	AHL		63	6	26	32	101		3	0	0	0	2
1965–66	Boston Bruins	NHL		3	0	1	1	2		—	—	—	—	—
1966–67	Hershey Bears	AHL		63	5	27	32	134		5	1	0	1	10
1967–68	Springfield Kings	AHL		72	8	27	35	180		4	0	0	0	4
1967–68	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		1	0	0	0	0		3	1	0	1	4
1968–69	Springfield Kings	AHL		13	0	10	10	19		—	—	—	—	—
1968–69	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		62	2	13	15	82		—	—	—	—	—
1969–70	Cleveland Barons	AHL		22	3	15	18	14		—	—	—	—	—
1969–70	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		32	0	4	4	31		1	0	0	0	0
1970–71	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		78	10	22	32	61		—	—	—	—	—
1971–72	Rochester Americans	AHL		12	7	4	11	10		—	—	—	—	—
1971–72	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		38	1	1	2	36		—	—	—	—	—
1972–73	Houston Aeros	WHA		73	16	48	64	158		10	2	9	11	23
1973–74	Houston Aeros	WHA		78	7	41	48	126		14	1	14	15	22
1974–75	Houston Aeros	WHA		78	11	53	64	123		13	1	10	11	34
1975–76	Houston Aeros	WHA		78	10	36	46	71		17	3	5	8	16
1976–77	Houston Aeros	WHA		80	12	56	68	87		11	0	7	7	10
1977–78	Houston Aeros	WHA		80	6	31	37	53		6	0	2	2	13
1978–79	Innsbrucker EV	AUT		34	6	28	34	99		—	—	—	—	—
1979–80	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		10	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1979–80	Houston Apollos	CHL		57	2	27	29	28		6	0	1	1	10
1981–82	Muskegon Mohawks	IHL		12	0	4	4	10		—	—	—	—	—
AHL totals				299	36	122	158	540		21	1	1	2	45
NHL totals				224	13	41	54	212		4	1	0	1	4
WHA totals				467	62	265	327	618		71	7	47	54	118

Coaching statistics

Season	Team	League		GP	W	L	W%
1981–82	Muskegon Mohawks	IHL		55	24	30	0.445

References

1. Duff, Bob (11 November 2016). "Detroit's Nielsen holds place in Danish NHL history". Windsor Star. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
2. Sapurji, Sunaya (28 November 2017). "Grassroots to Gold: Denmark's tight-knit hockey family is..." The Athletic. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
3. Surgent, Scott (2013). The Complete World Hockey Association, 9e. Tempe, Arizona. p. 287. ISBN   978-0-9644774-4-5.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com , or  Eliteprospects.com , or  Hockey-Reference.com , or  The Internet Hockey Database