Career
He played in the OHA, AHL, WHA, National Hockey League, 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. Popiel was in the news briefly in early 2007. The New York Islanders recalled Frans Nielsen and he made his National Hockey League 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 National Hockey League. lieutenant 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 honor of being the first Danish citizen to appear in an National Hockey League game. Additionally, Nielsen is the first Danish National Hockey League player at least partially trained in the Danish junior hockey system.
