Dionne is like 46th or 48th on the HOH List but some talk here like he should be outside the top-100 picks in the ATD. Is the difference that grand?
He's small but feisty, plays through traffic.
His shortcoming was being a L.A. King.
I'd pick Dionne in the 75-100 range, without question, if he wasn't such a jackass.
As for Dionne's playoff record vs. Bathgate's playoff record, Dionne played post-expansion, while Bathgate played pre-expansion. Expansion made such a difference in terms of production. When I look at Bathgate's playoff record, I see five playoff births during his magnificent eight-year run. Twice he played against the best team ever assembled, the late 50s Habs. Once he played against possibly the best defensive team ever assembled - the early 60s Leafs. The one time his Rangers played against a team at their level, in 1958 against the Boston Bruins, Bathgate had eight points in six games. He did have nine points in 14 games for the Leafs in 64, and that one is a concern, but that's the one playoff during Bathgate's prime in which I would say he legitimately struggled.
Now, you could argue that Dionne had to go against great teams in his playoffs, and that's true. But keep in mind how much the game opened up because of expansion and the onset of the offensive defenceman. And keep in mind that Dionne was facing a team like Edmonton, which, as great as they were, they were a team that you could definitely put up points against. Nobody will ever confuse the Oilers for the 62 Leafs.