Poul Popiel

{{Infobox ice hockey player

| image=

| image_size=

| played_for = Boston Bruins
Los Angeles Kings
Detroit Red Wings
Vancouver Canucks
Houston Aeros
Innsbrucker EV
Edmonton Oilers

| position = Defence

| shoots = Left

| height_ft = 5

| height_in = 10

| weight_lb = 176

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1943|02|28}}

| birth_place = Søllested, Denmark

| career_start = 1962

| career_end = 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.{{cite web |last1=Duff |first1=Bob |title=Detroit's Nielsen holds place in Danish NHL history |url=https://windsorstar.com/sports/hockey/nielsen-detroits-danish-treat |website=Windsor Star |accessdate=17 August 2018 |date=11 November 2016}} 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.{{cite web |last1=Sapurji |first1=Sunaya |title=Grassroots to Gold: Denmark's tight-knit hockey family is... |url=https://theathletic.com/126699/2017/11/28/grassroots-to-gold-denmarks-tight-knit-hockey-family-is-growing-fast/ |website=The Athletic |accessdate=17 August 2018 |date=28 November 2017}}

Awards

Ken McKenzie Trophy
Played in WHA All-Star Game (1974, 1975, 1977) {{cite book | last1 = Surgent | first1 = Scott | year = 2013 | title = The Complete World Hockey Association, 9e | location = Tempe, Arizona | page = 287 | isbn = 978-0-9644774-4-5 }}

Career statistics

border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; width:60em"
bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff" \| ! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" \| ! colspan="5" \| Regular season ! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" \| ! colspan="5" \| Playoffs
bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! 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
bgcolor="#f0f0f0" \| 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	—	—	—	—	—
bgcolor="#f0f0f0" \| 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
bgcolor="#f0f0f0" \| 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
bgcolor="#f0f0f0" \| 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	—	—	—	—	—
bgcolor="#f0f0f0" \| 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
bgcolor="#f0f0f0" \| 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	—	—	—	—	—
bgcolor="#f0f0f0" \| 1968–69	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	62	2	13	15	82	—	—	—	—	—
1969–70	Cleveland Barons	AHL	22	3	15	18	14	—	—	—	—	—
bgcolor="#f0f0f0" \| 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	—	—	—	—	—
bgcolor="#f0f0f0" \| 1971–72	Rochester Americans	AHL	12	7	4	11	10	—	—	—	—	—
1971–72	Vancouver Canucks	NHL	38	1	1	2	36	—	—	—	—	—
bgcolor="#f0f0f0" \| 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
bgcolor="#f0f0f0" \| 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
bgcolor="#f0f0f0" \| 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
bgcolor="#f0f0f0" \| 1978–79	Innsbrucker EV	AUT	34	6	28	34	99	—	—	—	—	—
1979–80	Edmonton Oilers	NHL	10	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—
bgcolor="#f0f0f0" \| 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	—	—	—	—	—
bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="3" \| AHL totals ! 299 ! 36 ! 122 ! 158 ! 540 ! 21 ! 1 ! 1 ! 2 ! 45
bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="3" \| NHL totals ! 224 ! 13 ! 41 ! 54 ! 212 ! 4 ! 1 ! 0 ! 1 ! 4
bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="3" \| WHA totals ! 467 ! 62 ! 265 ! 327 ! 618 ! 71 ! 7 ! 47 ! 54 ! 118