The heat will soon be on Derek Sanderson
Memorial Cup champion with 1965 Flyers will be roasted at Parkinson’s fundraiser
Steve Ludzik attended Tuesday night’s Niagara Falls city council meeting to remind the public about his upcoming celebrity roast later this month.
This year’s roastee is former National Hockey League great Derek Sanderson, who grew up in Niagara Falls and won a Memorial Cup with the junior Flyers in 1965 before turning pro.
Sanderson, 72, has a remarkable story. A rugged winger on the Boston
Bruins’ Stanley
Cup teams of
1970 and 1972, he was one of the first big-name NHL players to jump to the World Hockey Association, signing what at the time was the richest contract in pro sports, for $2.6 million, with the Philadelphia Blazers in 1972.
Plagued by injuries, Sanderson eventually returned to the NHL. After his playing days, his life spiralled downward due to addictions, but he was able to turn his life around and became a financial adviser for young hockey players.
The roast, Ludzik’s seventh, is Friday, Nov. 30, at Scotiabank Convention Centre in Niagara Falls. Tickets are available at TheSteveLudzikFoundation.org.
Over the years, the roasts have raised more than $1 million for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, which Ludzik, 57, has had for 18 years.
“It’s been amazing what you have done over the years,” said Coun. Mike Strange, noting Ludzik’s work through the foundation and the Steve Ludzik Parkinson’s Rehab Centre at Hotel Dieu Shaver in St. Catharines.
Other celebrities expected to attend the roast include Art Hindle, who played Toronto Maple Leafs phenom Billy Duke in the 1971 movie “Face Off” (in which Sanderson had a minor role).
Former NHLers Jim McKenny, Chris Nilan, Dave Schultz and Mike Palmateer are also expected.