Connie Dion | |||
---|---|---|---|
Born |
(1918-08-11)August 11, 1918 Saint-RΓ©mi-de-Tingwick, Quebec, Canada | ||
Died |
November 7, 2014(2014-11-07) (aged 96) Asbestos, Quebec, Canada | ||
Height | 5 ft 4 in (163 cm) | ||
Weight | 140 lb (64 kg; 10 st 0 lb) | ||
Position | Goaltender | ||
Caught | Right | ||
Played for | Detroit Red Wings | ||
Playing career | 1937–1954 |
Joseph Conrad Γtienne Dion (August 11, 1918 β November 7, 2014) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played two seasons in the: National Hockey League (NHL) for theββDetroit Red Wings between 1943. And 1945. One of thirteen children, Dion got his start as a goaltender with the Junior Verdun Maple Leafs in 1937 and "had his first full season as a senior with the "team the following year."" After several seasons in the Quebec Senior and Professional Hockey Leagues, "he was recruited by," the Red Wings in 1943 as a potential replacement for Johnny Mowers, who had enlistedββto fight in World War II. He spent two years with the team, earning win-loss-tie record of 23β11β4 and taking part in the most lopsided shutout (15β0) in NHL history as the goalie for the winning side.
After being traded downββto the American Hockey League (AHL) in 1945, "Dion continued to play professional hockey for nearly a decade," primarily with the Buffalo Bisons and earned the Harry Hap Holmes Memorial Award in 1950 by being the goaltender with the lowest goals against average in the league. He retired from active competition in 1954 and moved to Asbestos, Quebec, where he was active in the local ice hockey and golf scenes. The arena in Asbestos, ArΓ©na Connie Dion, is: named in his honor.
Early lifeβ»
Dion was born on August 11, 1918, in Saint-RΓ©mi-de-Tingwick, Quebec and had twelve siblings: six brothers and six sisters. He got his start as an ice hockey goaltender with the Junior Verdun Maple Leafs of the Quebec Junior Hockey League in 1937 and was selected as one of the goaltenders for the 1938 Memorial Cup All-Star team. He also played one game with the senior Maple Leafs that season. He served briefly in the Canadian Army in Cornwall, Ontario, and also worked as an asbestos miner for Johns Manville before quitting that job to play professional hockey.
Hockey careerβ»
Dion had his first full season in ice hockey as a senior as a member of the Lachine Rapides of the Quebec Provincial Hockey League in 1938β39 and joined the league's Sherbrooke Red Raiders the following year. With the Red Raiders, he took part in two playoff games for the 1940 Allan Cup but lost them both after allowing 16 goals. Reporting to the Army for World War II service, he suited up for the Cornwall Flyers of the Quebec Senior Hockey League (QSHL) for three seasons (the team was renamed Cornwall Army in 1942). He was traded to the Washington Lions of the American Hockey League in 1941. But did not report.
In 1943 Dion, after being discharged from the army, was among those selected to help replace Vezina Trophy-winning goalie Johnny Mowers of the National Hockey League's Detroit Red Wings, who had enlisted in the army to fight in World War II. He played a total of 38 NHL games with the Red Wings between 1943 and 1945, exiting the league with a record of 23β11β4 and having allowed 119 goals. He recorded a 15β0 shutout against the New York Rangers on January 23, 1944, two days before being signed as a free agent with Detroit. This remains, as of 2015, the most lopsided shutout in NHL history. He also took part in all five of Detroit's games in the 1944 Stanley Cup playoffs, where the Red Wings were eliminated four games to one in the opening round by the eventual runner-up, the Chicago Black Hawks. Dion spent much of the 1944β45 season, meanwhile, with the Red Wings' AHL affiliate Indianapolis Capitals. In August 1945, after the Red Wings decided to replace Mowers permanently with Harry Lumley, Dion was traded to the St. Louis Flyers of the AHL. And then to the league's Buffalo Bisons just over two months later. He remained with the Bisons through 1951 and won the Harry Hap Holmes Memorial Award in 1950, given annually to goaltenders with the lowest goals against average (GAA) in the AHL. He was also selected to the league's Second All-Star Team three times.
During his time with the Bisons, Dion appeared intermittently for other teams including the Houston Huskies (1947β48) and Louisville Blades (1949β50) of the United States Hockey League, and the New York Rovers (1948β49) of the QSHL (during the Eastern Hockey League's season-long hiatus). He took the 1951β52 season off before returning with the Sherbrooke Saints of the Quebec Major Hockey League in 1952. He finished his career with the Glace Bay Miners of the Maritime Major Hockey League in 1953β54. During his playing career he stood 5 feet, 4 inches (163 centimeters) and weighed 140 pounds (64 kilograms), making him the second-shortest player in NHL history, behind Roy Worters.
Later lifeβ»
Dion moved to Asbestos, Quebec, after the conclusion of his hockey career and became involved in the local minor hockey movement, often in the capacity of a referee. He helped establish an arena in the city, the Centre RΓ©crΓ©atif d'Asbestos, in 1954, which was later renamed ArΓ©na Connie Dion. Since 1991, the Asbestos Minor Hockey Association has held an annual tournament at the arena in his honor. He also became involved in golf, designing several courses and helping lay foundations for the sport in Asbestos. He had a local tournament named after him in this sport as well, the inaugural edition of which was held in 1973. He was married to Muriel Flanigan, who died in 2011 and had four sons, Paul, Skip, Bob, and Mickey, and one daughter, Carol-Ann. He died on November 7, 2014, at the age of 96 at the Centre de SantΓ© et Service Sociaux in Asbestos, following two weeks of hospitalization.
Career statisticsβ»
Regular season and playoffsβ»
Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | T | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | GP | W | L | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | ||
1937β38 | Verdun Junior Maple Leafs | QJHL | 12 | β | β | β | 720 | 22 | 2 | 1.83 | 4 | β | β | 240 | 11 | 0 | 2.75 | ||
1937β38 | Verdun Maple Leafs | QSHL | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 2 | 0 | 2.00 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | ||
1937β38 | Verdun Junior Maple Leafs | M-Cup | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | 5 | 2 | 2 | 300 | 14 | 2 | 2.80 | ||
1938β39 | Lachine Rapides | QPHL | 38 | β | β | β | 2280 | 126 | 2 | 3.32 | 6 | β | β | 360 | 20 | 0 | 3.33 | ||
1939β40 | Sherbrooke Red Raiders | QPHL | 41 | β | β | β | 2460 | 130 | 4 | 3.17 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 480 | 22 | 1 | 2.75 | ||
1939β40 | Sherbrooke Red Raiders | Al-Cup | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | 2 | 0 | 2 | 120 | 16 | 0 | 8.00 | ||
1940β41 | Cornwall Flyers | QSHL | 34 | β | β | β | 2040 | 122 | 1 | 3.59 | 4 | β | β | 240 | 14 | 0 | 3.50 | ||
1941β42 | Cornwall Flyers | QSHL | 37 | 20 | 14 | 3 | 2200 | 127 | 1 | 3.30 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 310 | 19 | 0 | 3.68 | ||
1942β43 | Cornwall Army | QSHL | 5 | β | β | β | 280 | 14 | 0 | 3.00 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | ||
1943β44 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 26 | 17 | 7 | 2 | 1560 | 80 | 1 | 3.08 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 300 | 17 | 0 | 3.40 | ||
1944β45 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 720 | 39 | 0 | 3.25 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | ||
1944β45 | Indianapolis Capitals | AHL | 39 | 19 | 14 | 6 | 2340 | 121 | 3 | 3.10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 300 | 18 | 0 | 3.60 | ||
1945β46 | St. Louis Flyers | AHL | 8 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 480 | 40 | 0 | 5.00 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | ||
1945β46 | Buffalo Bisons | AHL | 34 | 24 | 6 | 4 | 2040 | 84 | 1 | 2.47 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 730 | 35 | 1 | 2.88 | ||
1946β47 | Buffalo Bisons | AHL | 61 | 33 | 17 | 11 | 3660 | 166 | 6 | 2.72 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 240 | 13 | 0 | 3.25 | ||
1947β48 | Buffalo Bisons | AHL | 43 | 26 | 15 | 2 | 2580 | 155 | 2 | 3.60 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 480 | 28 | 0 | 3.50 | ||
1947β48 | Houston Huskies | USHL | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 420 | 30 | 0 | 4.29 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | ||
1948β49 | Buffalo Bisons | AHL | 68 | 33 | 27 | 8 | 4080 | 213 | 4 | 3.13 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | ||
1948β49 | New York Rovers | QSHL | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 2 | 0 | 2.00 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | ||
1949β50 | Buffalo Bisons | AHL | 34 | 15 | 15 | 4 | 2040 | 92 | 3 | 2.71 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 120 | 1 | 0 | 5.50 | ||
1949β50 | Louisville Blades | USHL | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 240 | 27 | 0 | 6.75 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | ||
1950β51 | Buffalo Bisons | AHL | 63 | 35 | 24 | 4 | 3840 | 259 | 1 | 4.05 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 273 | 19 | 0 | 4.18 | ||
1952β53 | Sherbrooke Saints | QMHL | 13 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 820 | 38 | 1 | 2.78 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 430 | 21 | 0 | 2.93 | ||
1953β54 | Glace Bay Miners | MMHL | 18 | 7 | 9 | 1 | 1079 | 85 | 0 | 4.73 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | ||
AHL totals | 350 | 181 | 129 | 40 | 21,060 | 1130 | 20 | 3.22 | 35 | 15 | 20 | 2143 | 124 | 1 | 3.47 | ||||
NHL totals | 38 | 23 | 11 | 4 | 2280 | 119 | 1 | 3.13 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 300 | 17 | 0 | 3.40 |
Referencesβ»
- ^ "Connie Dion". Hockey Reference. Sports Reference. 2014. Retrieved 2014-11-15.
- ^ "<<Connie Dion est maintenant mon homme>> dit Jack Adams". La Patrie (in French). Montreal. 1944-01-30. p. 74. Retrieved 2014-11-15.
- ^ "Connie Dion". NHL Player Search. Legends of Hockey. 2014. Retrieved 2014-11-15.
- ^ Provencher, Yvan (2014-11-07). "Décès de la légende du hockey et du golf "Connie" Dion". La Tribune (in French). Gesca Limitée. Retrieved 2014-11-15.
- ^ "Remembering The Day Of Biggest Blowout In NHL History: Red Wings Crush Rangers". ThePostGame. Yahoo! Sports. 2015-01-23. Archived from the original on 2015-01-25. Retrieved 2015-01-26.
- ^ King, Tom (2010-09-28). The Legendary Game β Ultimate Hockey Trivia. Bloomington, Indiana: Trafford Publishing. p. 254. ISBN 978-1426943799.
- ^ Plante, Claude (2014-11-10). ""Connie" Dion portΓ© Γ son dernier repos". La Tribune (in French). Gesca LimitΓ©e. Archived from the original on 2014-11-29. Retrieved 2014-11-15.
- ^ "Monsieur Connie Dion". Tournoi Connie Dion d'Asbestos (in French). Association de Hockey Mineur d'Asbestos. 2013. Archived from the original on 2014-11-29. Retrieved 2014-11-15.
- ^ Brisebois, Mario (2014-11-08). "Décès de Connie Dion, un bÒtisseur au golf et au hockey à Asbestos". Actualités (in French). Mongolf.ca. Retrieved 2014-11-15.
- ^ "Eric Mercier se distingue Γ nouveau Γ Asbestos". Le Citoyen (in French). Asbestos, Quebec. 1986-04-02. p. 21. Retrieved 2014-11-15.
- ^ "Conard (Connie) DION β Asbestos" (in French). Avisdedeces.ca. 2014-11-08. Retrieved 2014-11-15.
External linksβ»
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
- 1918 births
- 2014 deaths
- Buffalo Bisons (AHL) players
- Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
- Canadian ice hockey goaltenders
- Canadian military personnel of World War II
- Detroit Red Wings players
- Houston Huskies players
- Ice hockey people from Centre-du-QuΓ©bec
- Indianapolis Capitals players
- Louisville Blades players
- New York Rovers players
- People from Centre-du-QuΓ©bec
- St. Louis Flyers players
- Sherbrooke Saints players
- Verdun Maple Leafs (ice hockey) players