Michel Dion

Michel J. Dion (born February 11, 1954) is a 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.

Playing career 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 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 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 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 for cash in 1980-81 after abandoning his team during a game against the Boston Bruins. 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. He is also currently an instructor at PGCC.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV% 1969–70 Montreal Jr. Canadiens OHA 8 — — — 430 39 0 5.44 — — — — — — — — — 1972–73 Granby Vicks QJHL — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1972–73 Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge QMJHL 8 — — — 479 39 0 4.88 .868 — — — — — — — — 1973–74 Montreal Juniors QMJHL 31 — — — 1840 135 0 4.40 .869 1 — — 60 4 0 4.00 — 1974–75 Indianapolis Racers WHA 1 0 1 0 59 4 0 4.07 .895 — — — — — — — — 1974–75 Mohawk Valley Comets NAHL 28 10 12 2 1476 96 0 3.90 — — — — — — — — — 1975–76 Indianapolis Racers WHA 31 14 15 1 1860 85 0 2.74 .910 3 0 2 126 5 0 2.38 — 1975–76 Mohawk Valley Comets NAHL 22 — — — 1295 83 0 3.84 — — — — — — — — — 1976–77 Indianapolis Racers WHA 42 17 19 3 2286 128 1 3.36 .891 4 2 2 245 17 0 4.16 — 1977–78 Cincinnati Stingers WHA 45 21 17 1 2356 140 4 3.57 .885 — — — — — — — — 1978–79 Cincinnati Stingers WHA 30 10 14 2 1681 93 0 3.32 .873 — — — — — — — — 1979–80 Quebec Nordiques NHL 50 15 25 6 2765 171 2 3.71 .887 — — — — — — — — 1980–81 Quebec Nordiques NHL 12 0 8 3 686 61 0 5.33 .826 — — — — — — — — 1980–81 Indianapolis Checkers CHL 6 2 3 0 364 19 0 3.13 .856 — — — — — — — — 1980–81 Winnipeg Jets NHL 14 3 6 3 756 61 0 4.84 .864 — — — — — — — — 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 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 49 12 30 4 2780 198 0 4.27 .868 — — — — — — — — 1983–84 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 30 2 19 4 1551 138 0 5.34 .852 — — — — — — — — 1984–85 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 10 3 6 0 550 43 0 4.69 .863 — — — — — — — — 1984–85 Baltimore Skipjacks AHL 21 10 6 2 1118 65 0 3.49 — 5 2 2 229 9 0 2.36 — WHA totals 149 62 66 7 8242 450 5 3.28 .890 7 2 4 375 22 0 3.56 — NHL totals 227 60 118 32 12,660 898 2 4.26 .870 5 2 3 310 22 0 4.25 .880