More Hound coaching news
Soo Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League have now filled two assistant coach positions under recently hired bench boss Drew Bannister. They are Steve O’Rourke and Patrick Jarrett. Meanwhile, Bannister has been named a Team Canada assistant coach for the ’26-27 World Junior Hockey Championships.
Team Canada Appointment. This is quite the acknowledgement for Drew Bannister. Back with the Hounds for a second stint after a previous three year gig of success with the Red and White, Bannster will be one of the Team Canada assistants under head coach Misha Donskov. Bannister previously coached the Hounds from 2015 to 2018 and was behind the Soo bench for 136 regular season wins, 55 of which came during a franchise best record of 55-7-6 during the ’17-18 campaign. Notably, the ’26-27 World Junior tournament will be held Dec. 26, 2026, through Jan. 5, 2027, in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta.
O’Rourke and Jarrett. Greyhounds general manager Kyle Raftis has confirmed the hiring of Steve O’Rourke and Sault Ste. Marie native Patrick Jarrett as assistant coaches under Bannister. The 51-year O’Rourke recently spent parts of three seasons with the OHL’s Oshawa Generals as both associate coach and head coach. Meanwhile, the 42-year old Jarrett has been coaching Under 16 and Under 18 level teams in Pennsylvania since 2021. Before that, he was the video coach for the Hamilton (now Brantford) Bulldogs of the OHL.
