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.

Poul Popiel
Born (1943-02-28) February 28, 1943 (age 81)
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

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

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Career statistics

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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

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

References

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  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.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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