Derek Sanderson (born June 16, 1946), is a former Canadian ice hockey center who is now a bank executive.

Born Derek Michael Sanderson in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, he played junior hockey in his hometown. After helping the Niagara Falls Flyers of the Ontario Hockey Association to a Memorial Cup championship and then winning the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy as the junior league's leading scorer, in 1967 Sanderson appeared in two games as a center with the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). The following season he was a Bruin regular and was voted the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's 1968 Rookie of the Year. For the next five years he was an integral part of the Bruins team that won Stanley Cup championships in 1970 and 1972. Although he had been a leading scorer in junior hockey, his role on the high-scoring Bruins was to center their defensive line with wingers, Eddie Westfall and Don Marcotte . They became one of the best defensive lines in the league and Sanderson played a pivotal role as a penalty killer. It was in the finals of the 1970 championship that Sanderson laid the perfect pass on the stick of Bobby Orr that resulted in the goal that not only won the Bruins their first Stanley Cup in twenty-nine years, but became the most widely published hockey photo in Cup history.

Nicknamed "Turk," Sanderson was a fan favorite who received much publicity for his flamboyant lifestyle. He drove a silver Rolls Royce, flashed diamond rings, and wore a mink coat. Named by Cosmopolitan Magazine as one of the sexiest men in America, he was the subject of the gossip columns, a frequent guest on television talk shows, and regularly photographed in the company of numerous beautiful woman. He is famously quoted as having told a reporter who asked about his dining habits that his pre-game meal was a steak and a blonde. He was so famous that people such as Charles and Dorothy Jeter named their son, Derek Sanderson Jeter after him.

After the 1972 season, Derek Sanderson signed a contract with the Philadelphia Blazers of the newly-formed World Hockey Association. His $2.6 million salary surpassed that of Brazilian soccer star, Pelé, making him the highest-paid athlete in the world at the time. After one season he returned to the Bruins but was traded to the New York Rangers in 1974. Along with former Boston Red Sox baseball star Ken "The Hawk" Harrelson and the New York Jets star football quarterback Joe Namath, Sanderson opened "Bachelors III", a trendy nightclub on New York City’s Upper East Side. Negative publicity over some of the clubs less than reputable patrons led to problems and eventually Sanderson had to get out of what went from a "goldmine" to a money-losing venture.

The lifestyle arising from money and fame combined with abuse of alcohol and drugs resulted in Sanderson's health deteriorating and his career began to go downhill. That, and numerous knee injuries led to the end of his playing days in 1978. He lost millions of dollars in bad investments and with the substance abuse problems, he wound up penniless, in poor health, and crippled to the point he had to get around on crutches. Forced to accept the charity of friends who gave him a place to live, several years after his retirement, publicity about his situation brought a second chance from the goodwill of people in the city of Boston, a place that Bobby Orr said the fans and citizens were the most loyal and decent in the world. Sanderson beat his addictions and took a job as a professional sports broadcaster. He worked for ten years in broadcasting then helped organize State Street Global Advisors, where he was Director of the Sports Investment Group that provided professional financial advice to athletes to ensure they did not wind up impoverished as he had.

Derek Sanderson is currently Vice President and Senior Investment Professional with Boston Private Bank & Trust Company . He is involved with a variety of charitable organizations and makes a number of guest appearances at charitable events to help raise awareness and funding for their cause.