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. He played all six of his WHA seasons with the Houston Aeros. 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. 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.
Awards
Ken McKenzie Trophy Played in WHA All-Star Game (1974, 1975, 1977)
Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1960–61St. Catharines TeepeesOHA-Jr.3829117430112 1961–62St. Catharines TeepeesOHA-Jr.4931619128600011 1962–63St. Catharines Black HawksOHA-Jr.50113445131————— 1962–63Buffalo BisonsAHL20112————— 1963–64St. Louis BravesCPHL549142378601117 1963–64Buffalo BisonsAHL40004————— 1964–65Buffalo BisonsAHL487121976901129 1965–66Hershey BearsAHL636263210130002 1965–66Boston BruinsNHL30112————— 1966–67Hershey BearsAHL6352732134510110 1967–68Springfield KingsAHL728273518040004 1967–68Los Angeles KingsNHL1000031014 1968–69Springfield KingsAHL130101019————— 1968–69Detroit Red WingsNHL622131582————— 1969–70Cleveland BaronsAHL223151814————— 1969–70Detroit Red WingsNHL320443110000 1970–71Vancouver CanucksNHL7810223261————— 1971–72Rochester AmericansAHL12741110————— 1971–72Vancouver CanucksNHL3811236————— 1972–73Houston AerosWHA7316486415810291123 1973–74Houston AerosWHA7874148126141141522 1974–75Houston AerosWHA78115364123131101134 1975–76Houston AerosWHA78103646711735816 1976–77Houston AerosWHA80125668871107710 1977–78Houston AerosWHA806313753602213 1978–79Innsbrucker EVAUT346283499————— 1979–80Edmonton OilersNHL100000————— 1979–80Houston ApollosCHL572272928601110 1981–82Muskegon MohawksIHL1204410————— 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
External links