West Campus Director
A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Popper has accumulated an abundance of knowledge pertaining to the development of goaltenders from two distinct perspectives: coach and player.
Currently Karel Popper has joined the University of Minnesota women’s hockey team as the team’s volunteer goaltending coach for the 2018-19 season.
Popper was a member of the coaching staff for the Ohio State women’s hockey team during the 2016-17 season as an assistant coach and goalie coach, producing goaltenders who earned AHCA All-American and All-WCHA honors.
Most recently, Popper served as the Director of Goaltending at Total Package Hockey in Detroit, Mich where he implemented a goaltending development program for their goaltenders. During his time at TPH, Popper was the lead mentor for goaltenders at the Detroit Center of Excellence. In addition, Popper assisted with goalie development for AAA level hockey teams in the area.
Popper has also been involved with USA Hockey as he assisted the skill expansion and development of goaltenders on a national scale. In June 2018, Popper attended the USA Hockey National Goaltending Development Summit in Plymouth, Mich., where he connected with and learned from other goalie development coaches and became educated in implementing the Goaltending Coach Development Program.
During his collegiate years, Popper played NCAA Division III hockey at Hamline University. He graduated with his bachelor’s degree in Finance in 2016. Popper has made his way back to Minnesota to join the MEGA coaching staff where he will facilitate the development of goaltenders throughout the Twin Cities metro area.
Contact Karel Popper: karel@megagoaltending.com
