Geoff Sanderson

Geoff Sanderson
Born (1972-02-01) February 1, 1972
Hay River, NT, CAN
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position Left Wing
Shot Left
Played for Hartford Whalers
Carolina Hurricanes
Vancouver Canucks
Buffalo Sabres
Columbus Blue Jackets
Phoenix Coyotes
Philadelphia Flyers
Edmonton Oilers
National team  Canada
NHL Draft 36th overall, 1990
Hartford Whalers
Playing career 19912008

Geoffrey M. Sanderson (born February 1, 1972) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger, most notably for the Hartford Whalers and Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Playing career

Drafted by the Hartford Whalers 36th overall in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft, Sanderson made his NHL debut at the tail end of the 1990–91 season. After playing in 64 games in his first full season for the club in 1991–92, he registered career highs in goals (46), assists (43), and points (89) in 1992–93. Sanderson spent his first six NHL seasons with Hartford and played half a season with the franchise when they moved to Carolina. He was traded to the Vancouver Canucks in January 1998 and a little over a month later was sent to the Buffalo Sabres. He saw the most playoff action of his career during his three seasons with Buffalo, making it to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1998–99.

Left unprotected by Buffalo during the 2000 NHL Expansion Draft, Sanderson joined the Columbus Blue Jackets and scored 30-plus goals in 2000–01 and 2002–03. He was the first Blue Jacket to score a hat trick. He returned to Vancouver at the trade deadline in 2003–04 and was reclaimed by Columbus off waivers in the off-season which was a condition of the trade. Once the 2004–05 NHL lockout came to an end, Sanderson was traded two games into the 2005–06 season to the Phoenix Coyotes. After scoring 25 goals in 75 games with Phoenix, Sanderson signed a two-year contract with the Philadelphia Flyers in the off-season.[1]

A disappointing year with Philadelphia resulted in Sanderson being traded to Edmonton with Joni Pitkanen in exchange for Joffrey Lupul and former Oilers captain Jason Smith.[2] Sanderson scored two goals against Philadelphia the first time he played against his former team. Following the 2008 season, Edmonton declined to tender Sanderson a contract, ending his professional playing career.

Retirement

Sanderson accepted a Developmental Coaching and scouting role within the New York Islanders to begin the 2010–11 season. After his second season with the Islanders, Sanderson opted to step away from his position citing family reasons, and a similar lifestyle to his playing days.[3] Sanderson formed and currently runs an Oil and Gas rental company, Breakaway Matting, alongside former teammate Brendan Morrison.[4]

Personal

Sanderson is the only NHL player to have been raised in the Northwest Territories, a place in which he grew up while his father worked as a pharmacist in the now defunct town of Pine Point, Northwest Territories. As a teenager, he relocated with his family to Edmonton.[5] Sanderson currently resides in Calgary, Alberta, with his wife and three children.

In 2013, Sanderson coached his oldest son Ben's peewee team, the Springbank Whalers of Calgary.[6]

He has two cousins who have also played in the NHL: Wade Brookbank, who most recently played for the Rockford IceHogs and Sheldon Brookbank, who currently plays for Ak Bars Kazan of the KHL.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1987–88 St. Albert Royals AMHL 45 65 55 120 175
1988–89 Swift Current Broncos WHL 58 17 11 28 16 12 3 5 8 6
1989–90 Swift Current Broncos WHL 70 32 62 94 56 4 1 4 5 8
1990–91 Swift Current Broncos WHL 70 62 50 112 57 3 1 2 3 4
1990–91 Hartford Whalers NHL 2 1 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 0
1990–91 Springfield Indians AHL 1 0 0 0 2
1991–92 Hartford Whalers NHL 64 13 18 31 18 7 1 0 1 2
1992–93 Hartford Whalers NHL 82 46 43 89 28
1993–94 Hartford Whalers NHL 82 41 26 67 42
1994–95 HPK Hameenlinna FNL 12 6 4 10 24
1994–95 Hartford Whalers NHL 46 18 14 32 24
1995–96 Hartford Whalers NHL 81 34 31 65 40
1996–97 Hartford Whalers NHL 82 36 31 67 29
1997–98 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 40 7 10 17 14
1997–98 Vancouver Canucks NHL 9 0 3 3 4
1997–98 Buffalo Sabres NHL 26 4 5 9 20 14 3 1 4 4
1998–99 Buffalo Sabres NHL 75 12 18 30 22 19 4 6 10 14
1999–00 Buffalo Sabres NHL 67 13 13 26 22 5 0 2 2 8
2000–01 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 68 30 26 56 46
2001–02 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 42 11 5 16 12
2002–03 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 82 34 33 67 34
2003–04 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 67 13 16 29 34
2003–04 Vancouver Canucks NHL 13 3 4 7 4 7 1 1 2 4
2004–05 Genève-Servette HC NLA 9 4 1 5 29
2005–06 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 2 0 0 0 0
2005–06 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 75 25 21 46 58
2006–07 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 58 11 18 29 44
2007–08 Edmonton Oilers NHL 41 3 10 13 16
NHL totals 1104 355 345 700 511 55 9 10 19 32
Medal record
Men's ice hockey
Competitor for  Canada
World Championships
1994 Italy
1997 Finland

International

Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
1993 Canada WC 4th 8 3 3 6 2
1994 Canada WC 1st 8 4 2 6 8
1997 Canada WC 1st 11 3 2 5 2
Senior totals 27 10 7 17 12

Awards and honours

Award Year
CHL
WHL Champions (Swift Current Broncos) 1989
Memorial Cup 1989
AHL
Calder Cup (Springfield Indians) 1991
NHL
All-Star Game 1994, 1997

See also

References

External links

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