Derek Sanderson

Derek Sanderson
Date of birth	June 16, 1946
place of birth	Niagara Falls , Ontario , Canada
Nickname	The Turk
size	188 cm
Weight	91 kg
position	center
Shot hand	Left
Career stations
1962-1967	Niagara Falls Flyers
1967-1972	Boston Bruins
1972-1973	Philadelphia Blazers
1973-1974	Boston Bruins
1974-1975	New York Rangers
1975-1977	St. Louis Blues
1977	Vancouver Canucks
1978	Pittsburgh Penguins

Derek Michael "The Turk" Sanderson (born June 16, 1946 in Niagara Falls , Ontario ) is a retired Canadian ice hockey player (right winger) who worked for the Boston Bruins , New York Rangers , St. Louis Blues , Vancouver Canucks and from 1968 to 1977 Pittsburgh Penguins played in the National Hockey League as well as the Philadelphia Blazers in the World Hockey Association .

Career

Sanderson grew up in Niagara Falls and played there as a junior with the Niagara Falls Flyers in the Ontario Hockey Association . With the Flyers he won the Memorial Cup in 1965 . Already in the 1965/66 season he came to his first assignments with the Boston Bruins . After another year with the Flyers, in which he was top scorer of the OHA and again played two games in Boston, he came to the 1967/68 season right in the NHL.

In a team with Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito , he showed himself to be a robust player without fear of arguments and was able to win the Calder Memorial Trophy as the successor to Orr . In the following years he formed one of the best defensive storms in the league together with Ed Westfall and Don Marcotte and helped so that the Bruins could win the Stanley Cup in the 1969/70 and 1971/72 seasons . In the 1970 Finals, he put the decisive goal on Bobby Orr. The photo taken here is one of the most widespread ice hockey photographs of all. Outwardly, he stood out with his long hair and lush mustache, drove large cars and dressed conspicuously, but on the ice he shone with his strong outnumbered game and his strength in faceoffs .

In the newly formed World Hockey Association , Sanderson received an incredible $ 2.65 million offer from the Philadelphia Blazers . The Bruins couldn't keep up with this offer and so Sanderson became the highest paid athlete of the time, even ahead of Pelé . However, he only played 8 games for the Blazers, which soon bought him out of his contract because of his dissolute lifestyle, but also for financial reasons.

He returned to the Bruins, but after the end of the following season he moved to the New York Rangers . together with two football stars he opened a trendy nightclub in New York with the "Bachelors III" on the Upper East Side.

Alcohol and other drugs influenced his athletic performance and so the former star moved to the St. Louis Blues for two half seasons and then for a few more games each to the Vancouver Canucks and the Pittsburgh Penguins before ending his career.

After the end of his career, he fell into the abyss, lost a lot of money and had massive health problems. Some friends helped him regain control of his life and get on his feet physically. He worked for several years as a television reporter and has been working for an agency for a long time that advises young athletes on financial issues. Here, not least, he brings his own experience with him to spare others a fate like his.

statistics

	Seasons	Games	Gates	Assists	Points	Penalty minutes
NHL Regular Season	13	598	202	250	452	911
NHL playoffs	8th	56	18th	12	30th	187
WHA regular season	1	8th	3	3	6th	69
WHA playoffs	-	-	-	-	-	-

Awards

• 1967: Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy
• 1968: Calder Memorial Trophy

Web links

• Derek Sanderson at hockeydb.com (English)
• Derek Sanderson at legendsofhockey.net (English)