Greyhounds find their man (update)

The Soo Greyhounds have announced their new head coach.

The team has named former Greyhounds defenceman Drew Bannister the organization's coach in an announcement made on Friday evening.

The move comes after former-Greyhounds coach Sheldon Keefe took a coaching position with the American Hockey League's Toronto Marlies in early June.

Bannister becomes the 18th coach in team history – Craig Hartsburg and Paul Theriault each coached the team on two separate occasions. He also becomes the sixth former Greyhound player to coach the team.

“It’s a great feeling,” said Bannister. “It’s where I started my junior hockey career. Now the opportunity that Kyle and the board have given me to come back and start my head coaching career is a pretty exciting opportunity.

“I’m really excited about it,” Bannister added. “Just thinking about the process that I went through where I was a 16-year-old going (to the Greyhounds) and now I’m a man starting my coaching career there, it’s pretty exciting.”

Most recently, Bannister served as an assistant coach with the Owen Sound Attack for three seasons.

“Without the opportunity that (Owen Sound General Manager) Dale DeGray and (Coach) Greg Ireland gave me, I wouldn’t be talking to you today,” Bannister said of the Owen Sound staff’s influence on him. “From day one when they hired me (Ireland) has given me every opportunity to grow as a coach. The organization in itself has given me the opportunity to go out and work with Hockey Canada and the U17 teams and recently as a head coach with the U16 team that went to the Canada Winter Games. That really built some confidence in myself and the ability to take the next step to be a head coach.”

Greyhounds General Manager Kyle Raftis spoke highly of Bannister, saying that the many have had high praise for the 41-year-old.

“He’s got an excellent background as a player and he’s got a great reputation around the OHL in terms of the work he’s done in Owen Sound and some of the success that they’ve had,” said Raftis. “When you look back at it, everyone you talk to, whether it’s Hockey Canada or Team Ontario, they all rave about him.

“Although he’s hard working and he’s passionate, which are big parts of being a great coach and he’s great with x’s and o’s, he’s a great communicator,” Raftis added. “Taking kids at the U16’s this year and winning gold, that’s not an easy task. Every review I got back from that was that each kid knew his role and their expectation and they carried it through. Sometimes in those shorter tournaments it’s on the coach more than anything.”

DeGray called Friday a bittersweet day for the Attack organization.

“We valued Drew as a member of our staff and what he was able to bring to our organization will be missed,” DeGray said in a prepared statement, “but we are also happy for him and his family for their next chapter.”

In doing interviews at the NHL Draft in late-June, Raftis said he interviewed “under 10” potential coaches.

“We met a couple of times and talked on the phone,” said Raftis. “It was moreso a feeling-out process because, at the end of the day, we’ve got to work together and we’ve got to make sure that this works the right way.”

Raftis did say the initial interview process was narrowed down to a short list that was discussed with the board of directors before eventually deciding on Bannister.

Raftis said that in his conversations with Bannister, he was impressed with his honesty.

“He wasn’t in a situation where he was just telling me what I want to hear, he was very honest,” Raftis said of the conversations between the two. “That’s what really impressed me throughout the process.”

Exactly what can fans expect from the new Greyhounds coach?

“I’m a big teacher,” said Bannister. “I really believe in the habits and details of the game and the way I teach the game. That’s really the key for me is how I teach the players. That’s what I’ve learned a lot in the last three years under Greg Ireland in Owen Sound. They’ve done a great job in getting me to this point.

Other former Greyhounds having coached the club include Hartsburg, Denny Lambert, Marty Abrams, John Vanbiesbrouck and Ted Nolan.

Bannister played for Nolan from 1990 to 1994.

In 222 games with the Greyhounds, Bannister scored 18 goals and 118 points and added 11 goals and 37 points in 52 career playoff games. Bannister won a pair of Ontario Hockey League titles (1991 and 1992) and played in three Memorial Cup tournaments, one of which saw the Greyhounds take the national title on home ice in 1993.

Following his four-year OHL career, Bannister spent 18 seasons playing professional hockey which included stints in the NHL and AHL in North America and stops in Sweden, Russia and Germany.

During his final two seasons of pro hockey, Bannister served as a player/assistant coach during the 2010-11 season with the Hull Stingrays of the Elite Ice Hockey League. The following season, Bannister was a player/coach with the Braehead Clan, also of the EIHL. The following season, he joined the Attack.

Raftis said he plans to discuss potential assistant coaches with Bannister and hopes to have one named shortly.

The team also plans to name a replacement for former Physiotherapist/Strength and Conditioning Co-Ordinator Rich Rotenberg soon as well.

(Photo courtesy Terry Wilson/OHLImages)