Michel Dion: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|Canadian ice hockey player (born 1954)}}

{{for|the Canadian sports shooter|Michel Dion (sport shooter)}}

{{Use Canadian English|date=November 2018}}

| played_for = [[Indianapolis Racers]]<br>[[Cincinnati Stingers]]<br>[[Quebec Nordiques]]<br>[[Winnipeg Jets (1972–1996)|Winnipeg Jets]]<br>[[Pittsburgh Penguins]]

| birth_place = [[Granby, Quebec]], Canada

| draft = Undrafted

'''Michel J. Dion ''' (born February 11, 1954) is a [[Canadians|Canadian]] former professional [[ice hockey]] [[goaltender]] who was active in the [[World Hockey Association]] and [[National Hockey League]] from 1975 to 1985. He also played minor league [[baseball]] before deciding on a career in professional hockey.

Dion enjoyed a successful junior hockey career with the [[Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge]] and initially hoped for a career as a professional baseball player. During the 1971 and 1972 seasons, Dion played professional baseball in the [[Montreal Expos]]' organization with the [[Cocoa Expos (minor league baseball)|Cocoa Expos]] and with the [[West Palm Beach Expos]]. Eventually, he gave up on baseball in favour of hockey.

After playing his first two pro seasons with the [[North American Hockey League (1973–77)|NAHL]]'s [[Mohawk Valley Comets]], Dion joined the WHA's [[Indianapolis Racers]] in the second half of the 1975–76 season. His play in the last 31 games of the season earned Dion the [[Ben Hatskin Trophy]] as the league's top netminder.

After playing two years with the [[Cincinnati Stingers]], Dion was claimed by the [[Quebec Nordiques]] in the [[1979 NHL Expansion Draft|Dispersal Draft]] following the WHA/NHL merger in 1979. Dion excelled in 50 games in Quebec, and kept them in many games late in the season when they were decimated by injuries.

Dion was traded to the [[Winnipeg Jets (1972–1996)|Winnipeg Jets]] for cash in 1980-81 after abandoning his team during a game against the Boston Bruins.<ref name=GHL.com>{{cite web|last=Pelletier|first=Joe|title=Michel Dion|url=http://penguinslegends.blogspot.ca/2010/06/michel-dion.html|publisher=Greatest Hockey Legends.com|accessdate=19 March 2012|date=2010-06-29}}</ref> In June 1981, he signed as a free agent with the [[Pittsburgh Penguins]] and enjoyed his best NHL season. Dion recorded 25 wins for the Pens in 1981-82 and was chosen to play in the NHL all-star game. He also starred in the opening round of the playoffs when Pittsburgh nearly upset the defending [[Stanley Cup]] champion [[New York Islanders]]. Dion was solid over the next two years but only played ten games in 1984–85. He spent most of the year in the [[American Hockey League]] before retiring from hockey.

Dion lives in [[Bluffton, South Carolina]]. He is a certified Master [[golf]] instructor with the USGTF.<ref>http://www.usgtf.com/testimonials.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190409190658/http://usgtf.com/testimonials.html |date=2019-04-09 }} United States Golf Teachers Federation Members</ref> He is also currently an instructor at [[The Professional Golfers Career College|PGCC]].<ref>http://www.golfcollege.edu/ The Professional Golfers Career College</ref>

===Regular season and playoffs===

{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="width:90%; text-align:center;"

|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"

! colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff" |

! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" |

! colspan="9" bgcolor="#e0e0e0" | [[Regular season]]

! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" |

! colspan="8" bgcolor="#e0e0e0" | [[Playoffs]]

|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"

! [[Season (sports)|Season]]

! Team

! League

! GP !! W !! L !! T !! MIN !! GA !! [[Shutout#Ice hockey|SO]] !! [[Goals against average|GAA]] !! [[save percentage|SV%]]

! GP !! W !! L !! MIN !! GA !! SO !! GAA !! SV%

|-

| [[1969–70 OHA season|1969–70]]

| [[Montreal Jr. Canadiens]]

| [[Ontario Hockey League|OHA]]

| 8 || — || — || — || 430 || 39 || 0 || 5.44 || —

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 1972–73

| Granby Vicks

| QJHL

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

|-

| [[1972–73 QMJHL season|1972–73]]

| [[Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge]]

| [[Quebec Major Junior Hockey League|QMJHL]]

| 8 || — || — || — || 479 || 39 || 0 || 4.88 || .868

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| [[1973–74 QMJHL season|1973–74]]

| [[Montreal Juniors]]

| QMJHL

| 31

| — || — || — || 1840 || 135 || 0 || 4.40 || .869

| 1 || — || — || 60 || 4 || 0 || 4.00 || —

|-

| [[1974–75 WHA season|1974–75]]

| [[Indianapolis Racers]]

| [[World Hockey Association|WHA]]

| 1 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 59 || 4 || 0 || 4.07 || .895

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| [[1974–75 NAHL season|1974–75]]

| [[Mohawk Valley Comets]]

| [[North American Hockey League (1973–1977)|NAHL]]

| 28 || 10 || 12 || 2 || 1476 || 96 || 0 || 3.90 || —

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

|-

| [[1975–76 WHA season|1975–76]]

| Indianapolis Racers

| WHA

| 31 || 14 || 15 || 1 || 1860 || 85 || 0 || 2.74 || .910

| 3 || 0 || 2 || 126 || 5 || 0 || 2.38 || —

|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| [[1975–76 NAHL season|1975–76]]

| Mohawk Valley Comets

| NAHL

| 22 || — || — || — || 1295 || 83 || 0 || 3.84 || —

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

|-

| [[1976–77 WHA season|1976–77]]

| Indianapolis Racers

| WHA

| 42 || 17 || 19 || 3 || 2286 || 128 || 1 || 3.36 || .891

| 4 || 2 || 2 || 245 || 17 || 0 || 4.16 || —

|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| [[1977–78 WHA season|1977–78]]

| [[Cincinnati Stingers]]

| WHA

| 45 || 21 || 17 || 1 || 2356 || 140 || 4 || 3.57 || .885

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

|-

| [[1978–79 WHA season|1978–79]]

| Cincinnati Stingers

| WHA

| 30 || 10 || 14 || 2 || 1681 || 93 || 0 || 3.32 || .873

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| [[1979–80 NHL season|1979–80]]

| [[Quebec Nordiques]]

| [[National Hockey League|NHL]]

| 50 || 15 || 25 || 6 || 2765 || 171 || 2 || 3.71 || .887

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

|-

| [[1980–81 NHL season|1980–81]]

| Quebec Nordiques

| NHL

| 12 || 0 || 8 || 3 || 686 || 61 || 0 || 5.33 || .826

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| [[1980–81 CHL season|1980–81]]

| [[Indianapolis Checkers]]

| [[Central Professional Hockey League|CHL]]

| 6 || 2 || 3 || 0 || 364 || 19 || 0 || 3.13 || .856

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

|-

| 1980–81

| [[Winnipeg Jets (1972–1996)|Winnipeg Jets]]

| NHL

| 14 || 3 || 6 || 3 || 756 || 61 || 0 || 4.84 || .864

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| [[1981–82 NHL season|1981–82]]

| [[Pittsburgh Penguins]]

| NHL

| 62 || 25 || 24 || 12 || 3572 || 226 || 0 || 3.80 || .878

| 5 || 2 || 3 || 310 || 22 || 0 || 4.25 || .880

|-

| [[1982–83 NHL season|1982–83]]

| Pittsburgh Penguins

| NHL

| 49 || 12 || 30 || 4 || 2780 || 198 || 0 || 4.27 || .868

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| [[1983–84 NHL season|1983–84]]

| Pittsburgh Penguins

| NHL

| 30 || 2 || 19 || 4 || 1551 || 138 || 0 || 5.34 || .852

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

|-

| [[1984–85 NHL season|1984–85]]

| Pittsburgh Penguins

| NHL

| 10 || 3 || 6 || 0 || 550 || 43 || 0 || 4.69 || .863

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —

|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| [[1984–85 AHL season|1984–85]]

| [[Baltimore Skipjacks]]

| [[American Hockey League|AHL]]

| 21 || 10 || 6 || 2 || 1118 || 65 || 0 || 3.49 || —

| 5 || 2 || 2 || 229 || 9 || 0 || 2.36 || —

|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"

! colspan=3 | WHA totals

! 149 !! 62 !! 66 !! 7 !! 8242 !! 450 !! 5 !! 3.28 !! .890

! 7 !! 2 !! 4 !! 375 !! 22 !! 0 !! 3.56 !! —

|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"

! colspan=3 | NHL totals

! 227 !! 60 !! 118 !! 32 !! 12,660 !! 898 !! 2 !! 4.26 !! .870

! 5 !! 2 !! 3 !! 310 !! 22 !! 0 !! 4.25 !! .880

|}

*{{Ice hockey stats}}

[[Category:Ice hockey people from Granby, Quebec]]

[[Category:Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States]]

[[Category:Winnipeg Jets (1979–1996) players]]

[[Category:People from Bluffton, South Carolina]]