Hounds head coach a winner
The Greyhounds have gone from a mid grade head coach to a high grade one. It will be a hockey homecoming for Drew Bannister as he takes over from the ousted John Dean as the bench boss of the Red and White of Sault Ste. Marie.
Bannister never had a losing record in three earlier Ontario Hockey League seasons with the Greyhounds. And come playoff time, Bannister’s Greyhounds won no less than five series in three successive trips to the post season.
To be sure, the Hounds have a winner as their new on ice leader in the 52-year old Bannister.
With his National Hockey League contract with the St. Louis Blues expiring at the end of June, Bannister is officially returning to the Greyhounds as their head coach effective July 1. His coaching record with the Hounds and beyond speaks sufficiently of his successes.
Bannister previously coached the Greyhounds — who he won a Memorial Cup with as a defenseman in 1993 — from 2015 to 2018 and complied a standout record of 136-50-18. The Hounds won a round of the playoffs in each of Bannister’s first two seasons and made its all the way to the OHL finals in his third before losing to the Hamilton (now Brantford) Bulldogs.
After leaving the Hounds, Bannister had several successful seasons as a head coach in the American Hockey League before making it to the NHL with St. Louis and coaching the Blues for parts of two seasons. Bannister more than he showed that he was capable of coaching in the NHL as he compiled a record of 39-31-6 with the Blues.
Now he is back in his original OHL hockey home. And the betting is that Bannister will prove to be a major boost in the on-ice fortunes of the Hounds and their faithful — though often fickle — fans.
