The coolest man in hockey 

Thank God Bobby Orr was Derek's friend in need. That's a real and true friend when your at the lowest point in your life. Bobby was Derek's friend and Angel that truly turned him around for the better.

I remember taking my Dad to a game in Boston as a treat after major heart surgery (he was a fan since the very early 60's). No longer a player and not a commentator yet. At any rate during periods he had to use the rest room. Dad took a long time , but I figured... He came out with a huge grin. You won't believe what just happened were his words. "as I'm shaking , I look to my left and it was Derek Sanderson! Confirmed it was him and told him how proud I was of his recovery. " . In my opinion the most genuine thing were his remarks. "I wanted to shake his hand so bad, but I knew where it just was!" God, dad I miss you.......

I met Derek once at an AA meeting some years ago. Like most alcoholics/addicts I relapsed. I got clean again in 2019 and haven't looked back!

Most famous assist in Bruins Stanley Cup history!

He did a lecture at my high school, and told some stories about the dangers of addiction. I think most of us left there, wishing we could party as much as he did.

Phil Esposito found him sleeping on a park bench in ny and called Bobby Orr and Orr put him in treatment

Something in him that kept him motivated to push forward in spite of the demons that dogged him is very inspiring I think. You can’t keep a good man down when he contains a spark that refuses to be extinguished.

I have a '71 Sanderson sweater. Not because he fought or was crazy. It's because of all the people he helped after his hockey career.

the big bad bruins! Booby Orr was and is still my idol! And Sanderson had the most famous assist in NHL history ! Miss those days

Great recovery Derek! Great story

Always liked Derek. Knew he had some problems but not like that. Great recovery my man

He's lucky former teammates helped him out or he would probably not be with us.

Derek Sanderson is a good man. One of the voices of the Bruins when I grew up, along with Fred Cusick, they were an iconic team.

I watched the Turk play Junior A for the Niagara Falls Flyers- his home town. He was magic with the puck and was the best faceoff man we saw. Great to hear he's good now.

What a rockstar. Glad he eventually grew outta it though. Legend

I remember the shirts in Boston that read " Derek is Unreal". He was a great face off man and penalty killer. He was also hilarious as a color commentator!

I remember my friend Butch O'Connell being a caddy at the International Golf club in Bolton Ma. Derek would play there. They became friends. Butch with no license tooled around in Derek's car that was fully stocked. He was and still is the coolest man to play the game of hockey

I'm not even a big hockey fan, and I loved this story. Well done.

Great story And great storytelling! Thx

That was awesome! Thank you!

What a great story!!!! Ty!!!

It's nice to see someone turn their life around after they tossed it away earlier. Kudos to Derek.

I was a kiddie growing up in Boston during the Big Bad Bruins years. We all said Bobby Orr was our favorite player, but we were Turk Sanderson when playing street hockey. His local talk show was a hoot!

Those were the days! When men were men and women were glad of it!

A sentimental favorite!

Aaahhh the days of Sanderson and Kieth Magnuson. I still have memories of my 9 year old brother pretending to be Sanderson with fake sideburns and stache. Old time hockey

A neighbor tells a wild tale of Sanderson stealing his Corvette in Providence. Exhibition game, Player's Corner Pub, alcohol, and a Lady. Police found it in Boston a couple days later, undamaged. They were Buds at the time and remain so. It's just one of those things with Turk...

Bob Woolf = criminal who ripped off multiple players including Orr

My wife see him at the golf club all the time, he is a super nice guy and doesn’t hide any of his past. Get his book its fantastic.

Pregame meal: A steak and a blonde Bad ass Nuff sed

I used to watch Bruins games on TV in the late 60s. I was a teenager at the time and I thought Sanderson was just plane cool. This was the pre-helmet era and when Sanderson would skate down the ice, his hair would blow in the breeze. As for Sanderson's lifestyle, I have often wondered how a person who is young and inexperienced, has ordinary finances and notoriety, can keep his dedication and focus when everything in his world suddenly changes.

Great video! Thanks

I remember the Sanderson Magnuson fights whenever he came to Chicago!

Bobby Orr once said that Derek Sanderson knew so many people he could find an Elephant in Boston!

i forgot about that derek played for teams other than the bruins. i remember him on the broadcast team calling the bruins games back in the 80's or so.

I remember Derek talking to our school around 86 about his life and playing Russian roulette

Never heard of him as I’m from Louisiana but he’s still alive?! I kept expecting you to say “but on a hot August night in Atlantic City Sanderson overdosed on cocaine or pills”. Good for him to finally see the light before it was too late.

No Bruin ever lost a fight if Sanderson was doing the commentary! 🤣

During the 67-68 season Derek rented a house with three other young Bruins across the street from us in Lynnfield Massachusetts! You talk about wild and crazy… Me and my little brother, I was 12 , spent all night looking at the bedroom window watching all the goings on across the street! It was party Central with girls, booze, and snowmobiles!! I will never forget it

This jumps around chronologically without clear reasons why.

Rock star syndrome. Easy come,easy go.

cant believe you have that goal of him vs bruins with ungar assist

Great forechecker.

when he played for the rangers, they use to find him passed out on park benches

My name is Derek because of Derek.

Nice show and channel. What was the background music? It was perfect.

Darling Derek. His career trajectory reminds me somewhat of the actor Mickey Rourke. Had it all and crashed spectacularly. But they both resurrected their careers with friends support. Mickey with his buddy Sly Stallone and Derek with help from Bobby Orr

All of his challenges aside, the man won the Calder & was a key player in the Bruins 2 Stanley Cups. After his record breaking signing with the WHA, Harry Sinden still sought his advice when putting together the legendary, 1972 team Canada Summit Series team…specifically the checking line, which he would’ve been on. Perhaps the greatest defensive/PK/faceoff center of his era, before his demons derailed his career. He was also very tough & had a scoring touch, too…in other words, a complete player. You’re gonna get your atypical haters & the like, running their mouths about him…the types who can’t see past their own juvenile bias. If you know his bio, the man didn’t even drink alcohol before the NHL…addiction’s a tragic & personal disease. Many people DON’T GET IT⁉️ The Bruins were my team until the Oilers joined the NHL. Their captain, Johnny Bucyk was from Edmonton & his brother lived in my neighborhood for decades. 🇨🇦

the chicks must of loved the guy.

Love seeing people who came back strong after hitting the bottom. But I’m still no Bruins supporter. 😂

My first hockey stick (probably around ‘71 or ‘72) was a Derek Sanderson “signature” model. It was cheap. Made by Franklin I think. But I was a kid and didn’t know the difference.

Great video

i doubt that claim of sobriety for derek in 1980 because he was hanging around with two of my older brothers around then and he was still getting messed up. his van blew the engine and he stayed at my family's house for a while and i am pretty sure that was at least 1981. he still owes me money borrowed for tootski. he showed up at my apartment on queensbury st. with one brother to hit me for money. i didn't even recognize him. i am happy he did get sober, though. i ran into him around 2007, but didn't mention any of the bad old days.

I had heard, they had shot a movie based on his life. Called the turk, but I never seen it come out. Does anybody know what happened

“I’ve Got To Be Me.”

On a side note here the WHA was the best thing that ever happened to hockey when it was formed because the NHL banned all the players from NHL teams that jumped to the WHA and the NHL were going to play the Russians in Sept 1972. The league formed on Sept 13/71 and was successful in getting rid of the reserve clause in the NHL in a court battle. 67 Players jumped from the NHL to the WHA, led by Bobby Hull, Derek Sanderson, Frank Mahovlich, Gordie Howe, Bernie Parent, Dave Keon, J.C. Trembly, Marc Tardiff. Bobby Orr could not play in the 1972 series with the Russians because of knee surgery. Missing, Orr, Hull, Sanderson, Parent, J.C. Trembly, Mahovlich and Keon made Team Canada very weak by most standards. The NHL had to replace these guys with lesser stars. I have little doubt that had these players played the Russians Team Canada would have won at least 6 games. Brad Park was no Bobby Orr Dennis Hull was no Bobby Hull Rod Gilbert was no Gordie Howe (even at Howe's age) Bobby Clarke was no Derek Sanderson Peter Mahovlich was no Frank Mahovlich Pat Stapelton was no J.C.Trembly Had Team Canada won the series so easily the NHL would have snubbed Russian players from then on. The WHA also stocked their teams with European players and built some great teams in the 1970's. 2 of the 4 WHA teams won multiple Stanley Cups. The highest scoring team in the history of the NHL were the Edmonton Oilers of the WHA who is the only team to score more than 400 goals in a season (and they did it 5 times). Edmonton won 5 Stanley cups within 10 years of joining the NHL and Quebec later became Colorado Avalanche won 3 Stanley Cups. Europeans now stock the NHL as well as Russians. The game of hockey and the fan benefited from the WHA. The players are now paid very well and gone are the days they were tied to any one team.

checked it out, the bar was on lexington avenue, the east side of nyc and not in boston!

Derek Jeter's middle name is Sanderson.

If this was a 649 winner that blew all his money like this everyone would be calling him a moron.

Whatever happened to Reg Dunlop?

Quite sure that alcohol , substance abuse and other addictions are UNderestimated in the NHL and other sports leagues, for every player temporarily leaving their team to enter officially into that NHL program, there's probably 10 players that could do the same program

How is Sanderson’s story not being made into a rollicking movie treatment? It could be a limited series on Netflix! …wait

I was named after him.

Wasn't there supposed to be movie about him called "Turk" but never was completed?

The real man survives after the star days are gone

Met him and Fred Cusick in Hartford after a Bruins/Whalers game. They were walking through a parking garage. I asked both if they would sign my game program. Both seemed to be in a rush, but obliged.

Hockey rock star

Coolest publicity photo ever.....when he went WHA, and was the Highest Paid Hockey Player in the World.....the Classic Huck and Buck Skate Slide Pose......with a Cigarette,hanging in off of his Lips! He was never going to be Orr......but he was definately going to be Cooler than Orr!

After watching this wonderful mini documentary, I don't want to be cool. I guess I'll just stay in the nerd lane with all the other people who didn't piss away all their money on...what?

always thought bachelors 3 was in manhattan?

Smoking and drinking just like babe ruth haha

I loved listening to Sanderson on tv growing up. Then we got morons like Jack Edwards. Not even close. Sanderson is amazing.

I just liked the way he played hockey. Could have been Gretzky b4 Gretzky. Hockey wise he's there 4me with gordie Howe.

Athletes need a backup plan after their careers end like Al Kaline with the batteries.

He never played for the Null h Stars or Mild ..that was his salvation

wha screwed up a lot of nhl teams, But none more than the Bruins! Just won 2 cups in early '70s but after that, Dry ice. also Sinden was cheap ass that traded ESPO + let BOBBY walk. HE was pretty much done by then, But just the F' idea of it! Montreal never woulda pull that sleaze

6000$ in a bank account in 1980 or 81 was still a gaily desent amount of money back then that's at least 25,000$ or a bit more in todays money

Young, dumb and....well, you know the rest. He was a cool guy though. I always liked him and as far as drinking went, most of them did in that era.

Hockey had a lot more personality when they didn't wear helmets.

Derrick was an integral part of the Big Bad Bruins. My Favorite Hockey Players are the ones that stop the talented Power Players. I bought a pair of I Franklin Hockey Gloves with (stampede on) Sanderson autograph. Best Sports Commentary ever. 🏒

smoking a dube while giving a interview.........only turk.........

..I thought these guys werent being over paid back in the day? Apparently they were, and they barely had to wake up and put pants on.

One of the game's biggest jerks

No helmets

Going back and forth in the story makes no sense. Why not just go chronologically?

How could he loose all that money?

Whut

Yup! In today's SICKO society a DOPE-ADDICT/DRUNK is 'cool'! NOT in my orbit though!

Who that girl is

One of the all time biggest losers.

Coolest man in hockey? Maybe for teenage boys and immature men. Wasted talent with an out of control personal life who was out of the league years before he should have been. I would have named this What not to do uf you ever make it professionally.

I'm glad he repented.

A Rat

Good video but jumps all over. Frustrating.

Not someone to admire.

glad to see he beat the booze/drugs..awesome

I always find it strange that people who screw up their lives and deeply affect the lives of loved ones, friends, and even strangers that cross their paths, who later stop doing it are lauded and praised much more than people who never did those things in the first place.

Coolest hockey player to sleep in dumpster 🤣😅🤣

fuck yea Turk! fuck yea Red Hot Hockey! great video