1965-66 Topps 40 Poul Popiel Hockey Card (Front)
1965-66 Topps 40 Poul Popiel Hockey Card (Back)
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Card Notes
A combination forward-defenseman, Paul was drafted from Black Hawks last June after spending second pro year at Buffalo. Shared rookie honors while playing for St. Louis in 1963-64.
En Français
Jouant à l’avant aussi bien qu’a la défense. Paul fut échangé aux Hawks en Juin dernier après avoir passé sa seconde saison professionelle à Buffalo. Il se classa comme meilleure recrue durant sa saison à St.-Louis en 1963-64.
Details
First off, this is an ERROR card with Popiel’s first name spelt wrong four times. It should be Poul, not Paul.
Poul Popiel’s time with the Boston Bruins was short. He played just three games with the club in 1965-66 before being relegated back to the AHL. The 1967 NHL Expansion should have kick-started his career after he was the seventh player picked by the Los Angeles Kings. However, Popiel played just a single regular season game for L.A. and was with the Detroit Red Wings by the following season.
In 1970, Poul was again involved in an expansion draft, this time going to the Vancouver Canucks. 1970-71 was by far his best year in the NHL, scoring ten and assisting on 22 for 32 points from the blue line.
Still, the NHL didn’t seem to be the place for Popiel and he jumped at the chance for a new start in the WHA for that league’s inaugural 1972-73 season. Between 1972-73 and 1977-78, he played 467 regular season and 71 playoff games in the WHA, all with the Houston Aeros. He helped the team to consecutive Avco World Trophy championships.
Between 1965-66 and 1979-80, Poul Popiel played 224 regular season and four playoff games in the National Hockey League with the Boston Bruins, Los Angeles Kings, Detroit Red Wings, Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers. It was with the Kings in the 1968 Stanley Cup playoffs when he scored his first NHL goal.
In a game 7 9-4 quarter-final loss to the Minnesota North Stars on April 18, 1968, Popiel put one behind Cesare Maniago at 16:45 of the second period, assisted by Bill White and Mike Corbett. Unfortunately, Minnesota had just scored five straight goals in the period and Popiel’s goal only cut the score to 8-3 North Stars.