Height: 5-10
Weight: 175
Shoot: L
Born: 28 Feb 1943, Sollested Denmark
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Regular Season & Playoff Scoring Record (key)
| year | team | |||||||||||
| 1972-73 | Houston | |||||||||||
| 1973-74 | Houston | |||||||||||
| 1974-75 | Houston | |||||||||||
| 1975-76 | Houston | |||||||||||
| 1976-77 | Houston | |||||||||||
| 1977-78 | Houston | |||||||||||
| Totals: |
• Brother of Jan Popiel.
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Poul Popiel Makes Things Happen • by Joey LeBourgeois • The Hockey Spectator • March 16, 1973
"He who hesitates is lost." That's how Houston Aero defenseman Poul Poplel describes the game of hockey as played by major league professionals. It's not just off the top of his head, either. Pope has been around pro hockey for 10 years, He thinks he's getting to know the game well enough now to make statements like that. It may not be a profound message, but it is compound. It's got a double meaning, and could be taken as advice to both the player and his coach. For the player it means that the competition is tough, that if you wait around and become stagnant you won't be waiting around long. There are lots of people who would like to have the job. For the coach it means go the way the Montreal Canadiens go: play the game fast, move the puck in without backpassing and never give up the ice you've gained. There are lots of ways to win, but that seems to work best. "If I were putting together a team," says the 30-year-old Dane, "I'd try to do it that way. But you'd have to have the right ingredients to start. You'd need two good goaltenders, twog ood centers, three good defensemen and two good feft and right wingers. After that you'd want to get some promising kids to work in." "Versatility is important. Notice when the Canadiens play on TV that they can switch around a lot, with everybody being able to play everywhere. That's a bonus I have, since I can also play left wing and center. There would have to be speed on the team, too. The most basic importance of the game, as I see it, is to move the puck in quickly. If you do that, and can keep it in, you can keep the pressure you need to win consistently on." He admits he'd like to coach someday, and has definite ideas about how to do it. "I like to lay things on the line," he says, "not just suggest something. There are certain situations with certain people where you might want to be subtle, but I think it's usually better to just tell a guy what he's doing wrong. After all, we're supposed to be pros, and we should be able to accept criticism in the right frame of mind. In other jobs when you do something wrong you're told about it, and that's the way it should be on this job." "That's where I would differ from a guy like Doug Harvey (assistant Houston coach). Doug can get away with being subtle because of the experience he has." "I mean, here's a guy who's been there in every sense of the word. He was an All Star for years and played quite a bit in the playoffs with the Canadiens. He's regarded as one of the best defensemen ever in the game, and commands a lot of respect." "So when he says something, people listen. He doesn't have to do more than just mention something for a player to start working to correct it." Popiel's different from the average pro hockey player in that he didn't even begin to play the game until he was 13 years old (most start at about five) after being born and raised in Denmark. But he's recognized as one of the best defensemen in the league and a good one by any standards. "I basically try to make a lot of rushes, but not just for the hell of it, The faster you get to the puck in the better. You've got to make things happen, not wait for them to happon." That's what Pope's been doing all year, and something he can be expected to continue to do. After all, it's almost time for the playoffs and he plans to be in them. |
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Excerpts from Pro Hockey, WHA 1975-76 (by Dan Proudfoot)
A failure with Detroit Red Wings, a failure with Vancouver Canucks. Poul Popiel is now an important ingredient in the success of Houston Aeros. Popiel, born at Sollested, Denmark, in 1943, had the reputation of being somewhat of a Danish pastry. He still isn't vicious, as one would expect from a defenceman who weights only 175 pounds or so, but he makes his presence felt in different ways. His impressive 11 goals and 53 assists, third highest points total among WHA defenceman, illustrate his usefulness. Experienced hockey observers watch Popiel for finesse, beating forecheckers with clever moves as he lugs the puck out of the Aero zone. His agility with the puck also makes him a natural for blue-line duty during Aero powerplays. |
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Excerpts from Zander Hollander Complete Hockey Handbook, 1975-76 (by Reyn Davis) Came within one approving vote of joining Quebec's J.-C. Tremblay on the WHA All Star team, instead of San Diego's Kevin Morrison ... Yet he finished runner up only to Tremblay in the voting for the league's best defenseman, bumping Morrison by 14 points ... Born in Denmark ... Brother Jan plays for the Denver spurs ... Can play a chippy style if he thinks it'll be effective ... Member of the Aeros senior guard, captained for two years by Gordie Howe ... Was the Aeros assistant captain ... His 53 assists last season were a career high ... Good rushing defenseman ... Has excellent mobility. |
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