Shot Left Height 1.78 m Position Defenseman Role Ice hockey player Career end 1980 | Name Poul Popiel Career start 1962 Playing career Weight 80 kg | |
 | ||
Born February 28, 1943 (age 81) Sollested, DEN ( 1943-02-28 ) Played for American Hockey League, Buffalo Bisons | ||
Poul Peter Popiel (born February 28, 1943 in Søllested, Denmark and raised in Georgetown, Ontario) is a retired NHL defenceman, and head coach. He played in the OHA, AHL, WHA, NHL, CPHL, and IHL. He played a brief 12 games in the IHL with the Muskegon Mohawks, then halfway through the year, he retired and became the head coach. He was the first player along with Garry Peters to win the Ken McKenzie Trophy (In 1963-1964.). His younger brother Jan Popiel is also a former professional hockey player.
Popiel was in the news briefly in early 2007. The New York Islanders recalled Frans Nielsen and he made his NHL debut on January 6. At the time of his recall, the Islanders believed that Nielsen would be the first Danish-born player to play in the NHL. It turned out that Popiel had him beaten—by about forty years.
Popiel (whose family moved to Canada in 1951 when he was a child ) had become an American citizen prior to his debut, however, leaving Nielsen with the honour of being the first Danish citizen to appear in an NHL game. Additionally, Nielsen is the first Danish NHL player at least partially trained in the Danish junior hockey system.