Drew Bannister (born April 9, 1974) is a Canadian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

coach and former player who most recently was the

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

for the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL). He played in the NHL for the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. The Lightning compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the ...

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Mighty may refer to: Businesses *Mighty Audio, an American company known for its product ''Mighty'', a portable audio player *Mighty Animation, an animation studio based in Guadalajara, Mexico Films *''The Mighty'', a 1998 comedy–drama * ''The ...

and

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

. He finished his playing career as a player and head coach for the

Braehead Clan The Glasgow Clan (formerly ''Braehead Clan'') are a Scottish professional ice hockey team. It was formed in 2010 as the UK Elite Ice Hockey League expanded into the west of Scotland market, and are based at the Braehead Arena in Renfrewshire. It ...

of the British

Elite Ice Hockey League The Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), sometimes referred to internationally as the British Elite League, is an ice hockey league in the United Kingdom. Formed in 2003 following the demise of the Ice Hockey Superleague, it is the highest level ...

. Bannister was born in

Belleville, Ontario Belleville is a city in Ontario, Canada, situated on the eastern end of Lake Ontario, located at the mouth of the Moira River and on the Bay of Quinte. Its population as of the 2021 Canadian census was 55,071 (Census Metropolitan Area population 1 ...

, but grew up in

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario ** Sudbury (federal electoral district) ** Sudbury (provincial electoral district) ** Sudbury Airport ** Sudbury Basin, a meteorite impact cra ...

, Ontario.

Playing career

Bannister was selected in the second round, 26th overall, of the 1992 NHL entry draft by the

. Bannister was drafted from the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; ) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League, alongside the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The league is for players ag ...

(OHL) where he won a

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), a consortium of three Junior ice hockey, major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tou ...

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

and was chosen to the Memorial Cup All-Star team in

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

and 1993. He also won World Junior Championship with Canada national junior team in

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

. Upon completing his junior eligibility, Bannister spent a year and a half with the

Atlanta Knights The Atlanta Knights were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the International Hockey League (1945–2001), International Hockey League from 1992 to 1996. The Knights were based in Atlanta, and played at the Omni Coliseum. In 1994 the K ...

of the International Hockey League (IHL), Tampa Bay's farm team. Bannister played in the minors for most of his career but saw time in the

(NHL) with the

, and

. His most successful season came in 1996–97, when he played 65 games, scored a career-high 18 points, and played in 12 playoff games for the Oilers. In 2002, Bannister moved to Europe and played for teams in Finland, Russia and Germany. In the 2007–08 season, he was named best defenceman while playing for

Kassel Huskies The EC Kassel Huskies are a professional ice hockey club based in Kassel, Hessen, Germany. The club currently competes in DEL2, the second level of ice hockey in Germany. The Huskies were founded in 1977 and have competed in the top five levels o ...

of Germany's 2nd Bundesliga, and also won the championship which promoted the team to the

Deutsche Eishockey Liga The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called Penny (supermarket), PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga) (; English: ''German Ice Hockey League'') or DEL, is a professional ice hockey league in Germany and the highest division in German i ...

. On August 6, 2009, Bannister made a return to North America after seven seasons, signing a one-year deal with the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. The Senators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Di ...

. He spent the majority of the season with their AHL affiliate, the

Binghamton Senators The Binghamton Senators were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that played from 2002 to 2017. Nicknamed the B-Sens, they played in Binghamton, New York, at the Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena. The B-Sens w ...

, serving as captain. Binghamton's then-assistant coach, former AHL defenceman Mike Busniuk, happened to be Bannister's father-in-law.

Coaching career

On November 16, 2010, Bannister signed for the

Hull Stingrays The Hull Stingrays were a British ice hockey club from Kingston upon Hull who was a member of the Elite Ice Hockey League from 2003 until 2015. They played their home games at Hull Arena. The Stingrays replaced previous clubs Humberside Seaha ...

in the British

as a player and assistant coach. On July 29, 2011, Bannister was announced as a player and head coach of the

in the British Elite Ice Hockey League for the 2011–12 season, replacing

Bruce Richardson Bruce Richardson (born June 8, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player best known for his time playing for Braehead Clan and the Nottingham Panthers in the British Elite Ice Hockey League and for the Hershey Bears in the America ...

. On June 2, 2012, Bannister was announced as an assistant coach for the OHL's

Owen Sound Attack The Owen Sound Attack are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League based in Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada. Based in Owen Sound since 1989, and operating under the current name since 2000, the Attack play their home games at the J. D. ...

, which effectively ended his playing career. On July 10, 2015, he left the assistant coaching job in Owen Sound to become a head coach for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. On June 5, 2018, he was hired as the head coach of the

San Antonio Rampage The San Antonio Rampage were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League based in San Antonio, Texas. The Rampage was primarily owned by Spurs Sports & Entertainment throughout the team's existence. In 2020, the franchise was so ...

in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

(AHL), the top development team for the

of the

(NHL). In 2020, after the Rampage were sold and moved to southern Nevada, Bannister became head coach of the new Blues' affiliate in

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...

. On December 12, 2023, Bannister was named interim head coach of the St. Louis Blues of the NHL following the firing of

Craig Berube Craig Berube (; born December 17, 1965) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player who is the head coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed "Chief", Berube played 17 seasons in the NHL f ...

. On May 8, 2024, following the 2023–24 season, Bannister was promoted to permanent head coach of the Blues, signing a two-year contract. On November 24, 2024, the Blues fired Bannister after the team started the 2024–25 season with a 9–12–1 record.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Head coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bannister, Drew 1974 births Living people Atlanta Knights players Binghamton Senators players Braehead Clan players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey coaches Canadian ice hockey defencemen Cincinnati Mighty Ducks players Edmonton Oilers players Espoo Blues players Hartford Wolf Pack players Hull Stingrays players Ice hockey people from Belleville, Ontario Ice hockey people from Greater Sudbury Ice hockey player-coaches Kassel Huskies players Las Vegas Thunder players Mighty Ducks of Anaheim players New York Rangers players Nürnberg Ice Tigers players Oulun Kärpät players St. Louis Blues coaches Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds players Severstal Cherepovets players Tampa Bay Lightning draft picks Tampa Bay Lightning players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Finland