I believe he did in the early days. When he was putting up his big numbers he was exclusively a RW (but did play the point on the PP). His line was Prentice-Popein-Bathgate. Not really a deep team.
Yeah, certainly an interesting and colorful guy, player. Despite his railing against the rise of violence in the game, and having grown up in a tough Winnipeg neighborhood with brothers who were also excellent players, known or remembered more for his goal scoring exploits he could fight. Drop em. Combination of speed, toughness and finesse, unselfish who prided himself on passing, puck movement & getting open. Natural Leadership qualities.
The Rangers had been badly hit by WW2 & had lost a considerable array of talents however, they were extremely active in Western Canada sponsoring Amateur & Junior, Senior etc, signing Andy to a 'C Form' & sending him to the Guelph Biltmores of the OHA where.... he promptly wrecked his knee (skate & foot went right through a board, metal plate installed & he wore a brace for the rest of his career)... however thereafter & with his return the Biltmores went on a total tear, winning the Memorial Cup, all of em' Ranger prospects so the future was looking pretty bright for the big club....
Unfortunately, NY never capitalized on any of it, trading away talent or selling it for cash, idiotically helping out the other clubs. Whats more, they didnt care & didnt invest in the NHL team. Bathgate recounting that in the nearly 12yrs he spent there, not once did they actually practice on the main ice at MSG but instead.... relegated to an extremely primitive undersized rink on a top floor with caging around the end boards, a piece of plywood set up at one ends net because the club was too cheap to hire a practice goalie, a dressing room attached to it that was so small you could barely change your mind let alone clothes. And if injured, the player dumped in the middle of it for all to witness his agony.
As eventually the Captain he did criticize Management & of course that eventually led to his being traded to Toronto where he did score a Cup Winning Goal, very very popular player with the media & fans of course however Drill Sarge Imlach, the idiot Bag Skates the club the following year holding 2X daily Practices during the entire Playoff run including the Finals against Montreal.... wearing out his aged Troops who then lost to Montreal.... Andy traded in the off-season, gone. One of my favorites as a kid however, not real impressed with what Toronto gave up to get him and at that, basically what today we'd call a "Rental Player". Too bad he didnt spend his entire career with Toronto.... his Mom originally from Toronto (Toronto Island actually) & his Grandfather a City Cop. Family actually moved back to Toronto from Winnipeg to accommodate Andys' burgeoning career in Jr.