It was all before my time, but could Sanderson have been a truly great player if he had a better lifestyle while he was player? Or did the partying come after he had already peaked as an athlete?
2007-10-23 02:19:44 · 4 answers · asked by michinoku2001 7 in Sports ➔ Hockey
I think Sanderson was a truly great player to begin with. He was a complete player in nthe NHL at a time when you had to be. He could score, he could pass, he could hit, and he could fight. He was pretty good in the face-off circle too with a FO% of 53.2. He wasn't the greatest skater, but you didn't need to be.
He was a remnant of the old system where players were signed as youngsters and placed on teams. The Niagara Falls Flyers and Oshawa Generals were the Bruins teams at the time and Sanderson was a Flyer.
Derek has received a lot of flak over the years for his antics, most notable the antics that took place after he signed his WHA contract and started burning money (literally). His position in Boston wasn't going to change (3rd line C as a previous responder stated) and he was probably a 30-35 goal scorer if he had more ice time.
I doubt he could have achieved a lot more, but I think his current achievements would "look" a lot better had he lived a 'quieter' lifestyle. He wasn't an all-star, and certainly wasn't HHOF material. But he was a very good hockey player on a very good team.
2007-10-23 06:26:58 · answer #1 · answered by cyrenaica 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The partying came after he peaked.
Sanderson was never a truly great player so much as he was a character. He was a great second line player who had the tools to play the game, but not the tools to be an all-star. He was never a top 20 scorer in Junior and very few players who don't do that ever do it in the NHL.
He was a solid 25 goal scorer and a solid 65 point man. A great late round pick for hockey pools, but not the type of player that you would want to build a team around.
In 1968-69, Derek Sanderson ranked 26th in junior scoring in Canada. The leagues were more fractured then and winning any scoring title was really meaningless. There was still a lot of residual effects of the junior/NHL relationship at the time..
As for the Calder, I've never put much stock in that award. Sanderson won the award in a time when people Brit Selby, Eric Vail, Steve Vickers and Danny Grant won the award. Solid players all, but none were all-stars.
2007-10-23 09:43:48 · answer #2 · answered by Like I'm Telling You Who I A 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Sanderson had great potential which was thrown away. He was a skilled player, played hard, and made the assist that assured a Stanley Cup when Bobby Orr flew through the air. He was still young and had not peaked when the downward trend started, but too much money and too much partying took it's toll.
LITY: Sanderson was a top scorer in Juniors, in fact was top scorer in the OHA with 101 points. His role on the Bruins was not to be a scorer, He was a third line center with the Bruins. He did win the Calder Trophy also.
2007-10-23 10:54:56 · answer #3 · answered by ripbolts 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Sanderson was an embarrasment to the game.
2007-10-23 09:59:14 · answer #4 · answered by Canadian Biology Man 4 · 1⤊ 2⤋