Drew Bannister

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Spielzeiten in Kassel
Jahrgang	Sp. (T/A)	Str.	Liga

Drew Bannister #7 wurde am 09.04.1974 im kanadischen Belleville geboren und spielte zwischen 2005 und 2009 im Team der Kassel Huskies.

Laufbahn als Spieler

Kassel Huskies

Drew Bannisters Karriere begann bei den Sault Ste.Marie Greyhounds in der nordamerikanischen OHL mit denen er zwischen 1990 und 1994 um den Memorial-Cup kämpfte. Beim Cup-Gewinn in 1993 avancierte er zum besten Verteidiger seines Teams und wurde von der Jury ins All-Star-Team gewählt. Seine Junioren-Karriere fand einen gelungenen Abschluss als die Kanadier 1994 mit Bannister die Weltmeisterschaft der Junioren gewann.

Im 1992 Entry Draft wurde Bannister in der 2.Runde an 26.Position von den frisch gegründeten Tampa Bay Lightning gezogen. Sein Debut in der NHL feierte er im Jahr 1995 als er 13 Spiele für eben selbige Lightning spielte. Über die Stationen Edmonton und Anaheim führte Bannisters Weg 1998 erneut nach Tampa Bay wo er aber erneut nicht glücklich werden sollte. Nach weiteren Jahren in den nordamerikanischen Minors entschied er sich 2002 zum Wechsel nach Europa.

Nach zwei Jahren in Finnland bzw. Russland verpflichteten die Nürnberg Ice Tigers den 1.86m großen Verteidiger. Mit 13 Punkten blieb Bannister aber hinter den Erwartungen der Fans in Nürnberg zurück, so dass sein Vertrag nach der Saison nicht verlängert wurde.

Im Sommer 2005 verpflichteten Rainer Lippe und Bernie Englbrecht Bannister und banden ihn in die zu der Zeit schwierigen Planungen im Huskies-Kader ein. Seine Punkteausbeute verdoppelte Bannister im Vergleich zu seinem ersten Deutschland-Jahr, konnte allerdings nicht den Fall in die Zweitklassigkeit verhindern. Allen Unkenrufen über seine teils schlampige Defensivarbeit war Bannister zusammen mit Justin Harney einer der ersten Spieler die sich für das Unternehmen 2.Liga bereitstellten.

In den Jahren 2006/2007 sowie 2007/2008 wurde er vom Expertengremium der Eishockeynews zum bestern Verteidiger der 2.Bundesliga gewählt. Gerade im Powerplay war Bannister im System von Coach Stéphane Richer unverzichtbar geworden. So war es auch kein Wunder, dass es eben Bannister war der die Huskies in der Overtime von Spiel 5 der Finalserie gegen Landshut mit einem Schlagschuss zurück in die DEL schoss.

Die Saison 2008/2009 begann für den Routiner verhalten. Bannisters Chancenverwertung und vor allem sein gefürchteter Schlagschuss kamen nicht mehr so zu Geltung wie in der vergangenen Jahren. Zudem litt "Banni" wie bereits in der Jahren zuvor an Problemen mit der Bauchmuskulatur.

Im Januar 2009 beendete ein Fußbruch im Spiel gegen die Eisbären Berlin die Saison für den Verteidiger mit der #7.

Im August 2009 wurde bekannt, dass Bannister einen Vertrag bei den Binghampton Senators unterzeichnet hat.

Trivia

• Im Hessenderby gegen die Frankfurt Lions erzielte Bannister zwei Sekunden vor Schluss ein Tor von der Mittellinie.
• Im Finale 2008 um den Aufstieg in die DEL erzielte Bannister den entscheidenden Treffer in der 72.Minute
• Spitzname: 'Banni'

Interviews

"Bannister still winning hockey championships" Interview mit Drew Bannister im Sommer 2008

Drew Bannister may have been born in Belleville, but he’s a Greater Sudbury boy through and through. The 34-year-old recently capped off a remarkable 2007-08 season in Germany with the Kassel Huskies where he won the league championship, scored the series finale overtime goal and was named best defenceman.

Bannister moved to Sudbury when he was seven with his family and played AAA minor hockey here until being drafted by the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in 1990. The six-foot-two defender then played four seasons with the Greyhounds, winning two OHL championships, the Memorial Cup and a gold medal at the World Junior Championship (WJC). Bannister then embarked on his professional career which has seen him play in the United States to Finland to Russia and Germany since 1994, winning one AHL championship (with Hartford in 2000).
Bannister was drafted into the NHL by Tampa Bay in 1992, 26th overall. He played 164 NHL games with Tampa Bay, Edmonton and Anaheim.
Recently, Bannister took time to talk with Northern Life reporter Scott Haddow about life and hockey in Europe, his fondest memories and the impact a car accident had on him and his entire family when he was young.

Q: Winning the German championship, what did it mean to you?

A: Last year, we lost the finals. This year, we were the favourites and there was a lot of pressure on the team. It was a tough grind and we faced a lot of adversity, but we pushed through it and won. It had been a while since I had won a league championship. It was a special feeling. It makes me wonder if it was my last chance to win a championship. With me getting up in age, to win another championship is a big accomplishment.

Q: You scored the overtime, championship-winning goal in Germany. How did that feel?

A: Growing up as a kid, for me, I played street hockey and dreamed of scoring an overtime goal to win the Stanley Cup. It’s a great individual achievement...but I played with a lot of guys who did a lot of great things during the season that gave me the chance to score. It’s a feeling that’s hard to describe.

Q: What are you getting out of the hockey experience in Europe?

A: If I was still in North America, I would probably have never gone to Europe and seen all the different places I’ve seen. It made me appreciate the things we have here in North America. Europe doesn’t have the vast amounts of land or lakes. A lot of people don’t own houses, they live in apartments. I feel privileged I can come home and sit down in my backyard or go to camp and enjoy everything we have here.

Q: What kind of cultural differences have you noticed or had to adjust to?

A: Nothing really blows my mind over there. The language barrier was something I had to get used to, but English is a second language in Europe and I’ve been able to get by and even learned some German. The cultural is more laid-back than North America...there’s no crazy rush and people speeding in their cars. They live a relaxed lifestyle. It’s an easy life to get used to. There’s a lot of similarities...people work hard and have fun in their time off like we do. Where I live in Kassel, a week doesn’t go by were I don’t hear about somebody digging up a bomb leftover from the Second World War...it’s crazy.

Q: You were named Top Defenceman in Germany for two straight seasons. What does it mean to you?

A: It sure looks good on paper. I got the trophies and I can say it’s a bit of an ego boost. I played on some great teams and with great players. When it comes down to it in the end, if you don’t win the championship, individual awards don’t matter to me. Last year, I would have traded the Top Defenceman award for a championship without hesitation. I would have done it this year. The most important thing is to win as a team...going through everything with a team. It’s more of an accomplishment.

Q: Is there anything you would change about your life right now?

A: There’s always been things I’ve done I would have liked to change, but would I be where I am now? I can’t be more happier with how my life has turned out. I would have loved to have played five or 10 more years in the NHL, but I was blessed enough to play five seasons in the NHL. I wouldn’t change anything hockey-wise. I’ve met a lot of great people and seen a lot of great things. I’ve won league championships...there’s guys who go through their whole careers and never even win a playoff series. A defining moment in a hockey player’s career is what you’ve done with a team and being part of a championship-winning team. I’m proud I was part if winning teams at the national, international and professional levels.

Q: You were born in Belleville, but grew up in Sudbury from age seven. Do you consider yourself to be a Sudbury boy?

A: Yes. I’ve always considered myself to be from Sudbury. I played all my minor hockey here. I went to play Major Junior hockey when I was 16, but I always came back here in the summer. I’m back now and I’m rooted here...my family is still here and my wife, Katie, is a teacher in Chelmsford. There’s no place I would rather be than Sudbury.

Q: What does Sudbury mean to you?

A: Sudbury people are the salt of the earth. I grew up here and learned all my values from my family, coaches and friends I had in Sudbury. Sudbury is a small city, but it’s a big city. Everyone is always interested in how you’re doing. Guys I’ve played with, who played in Sudbury, always talk about how great it was...they can’t say enough good things about the city. It’s nice to know I come from a city which has meant so much to other people.

Q: What do you like most about Sudbury?

A: I love the outdoors and fishing. Where else can I live where there’s 300 lakes at my back door? When I played in the United States, I loved coming home to go fishing or just walking in the bush. I drag my wife out onto the lake just to get an extra line in the water. This is why I love coming home.

Q: You’ve also won other major hockey championships – Memorial Cup (1993, along with two OHL titles in 1991 and 92), WJC Gold medal in 1994 and AHL Calder Cup in 2000. What do you remember most about each championship?

A: For the Memorial Cup, it was our third time in a row going there. We beat Peterborough to earn the right to host the Memorial Cup. At the time, the steel plant in Sault Ste. Marie had a shut down and people were struggling. Our team was something to keep people’s minds off their troubles. We ended up winning on home ice and it was absolute pandemonium. I can remember the Zamboni driving down the street...it was crazy. The WJC in the Czech Republic was a totally different experience. We were big underdogs and had to beat Sweden in our final game to win gold, which we did. To win for my country was emotional especially knowing there were so many people watching back home. The Calder Cup was my first professional championship and the first season I played in the AHL. Our coach was John Paddock and he made us believe in ourselves and we bought into it and won.

Q: What kind of demands do you put on yourself?

A: I am my toughest critic and I’ve always been that way. I’m in better shape now than I was when I was 23. I’m always in the gym...it’s a commitment which goes hand-in-hand with hockey. I enjoy pushing myself to be better. I’m in a leadership role, so I put pressure on myself to be in top shape and be ready for my teammates.

Q: Your father, Bob, was seriously injured in a car accident when you were in Grade 6 which left him paralyzed on one side of his body. What kind of effect did that have on you?

A: I didn’t have to sacrifice anything. I was the youngest in the family and my mother, and older sister and brother had to make all kinds of sacrifices. My mom had to go back to school and take care of the family. My older brother, Kent, had to become the man of the house and my sister, Jody, had to do the things our mother had been doing. They had to sacrifice a lot and couldn’t do certain things. They decided, as a group, to allow me to keep playing AAA hockey. They wanted me to keep playing and I know I wouldn’t be where I am without what they did. Today, my dad is very independent and active. I’m lucky to have him around. He loves hockey and still goes to every Sudbury Wolves game at the Sudbury Arena.

Q: What’s next for you?

A: I have one more year left on my contract with Kassel. I’m looking to extend it another two or three seasons. The drive to play is still there. I still love going to the rink. They’ll have to kick me out of the game before I leave.

Quelle: BY SCOTT HADDOW (http://www.northernlife.ca/News/Sports/2008/05-22-08-bannisterTOP.asp?NLStory=05-22-08-bannisterTOP)

"Bannister back across the pond" Interview mit Drew Bannister im August 2009

Oh, to be 25 again.

Since signing with the Ottawa Senators earlier this month, Drew Bannister has been eager to find out just how much of a 25-year-old step is left in his 35-year-old body.

“The game has changed,” Bannister said “If I was 24 or 25 again, it would be perfectly fitted to my game and the way I play.”

At six-foot-two and nearly 200 pounds, the former Soo Greyhounds blue-liner has never been a small fry. But against the NHL’s big-fish forwards, it was difficult to make his speed-based, puck-moving game effective prior to the post-lockout rule changes that eliminated much of the game’s clutching and grabbing.

Perhaps those rule changes helped convince the Senators to ink Bannister to a one-year, two-way contract on Aug. 6, bringing the Sudburian back to North America for the first time since the 2001-02 season.

Since then, the former Tampa Bay Lightning draft choice has toiled for elite teams in the Finnish, Russian and German professional loops.

“I’ve been playing for seven years with no red line and I think my skating has actually gotten better,” Bannister said. “I typically play 30 minutes per game over there. I’ve been asked to do a lot.”

Still, he was surprised to hear of Ottawa’s interest.

“It was my dream to play in the NHL, and I was able to realize that dream,” Bannister said. “Then I jumped over to Europe and I was gone for seven years.

“It kind of feels like I’m a young kid again, like I just got drafted. I get a chance to to live that dream again.”

Bannister played for the Greyhounds for four seasons, helping the team win the J. Ross Robertson Cup, emblematic of Ontario Hockey League supremacy, in 1991 and 1992, and the Memorial Cup national championship in 1993.

He also helped Team Canada win a World Junior Championship, along with Soo teammate Aaron Gavey, in 1994.

Drafted in the second round, 26th overall, by the Lightning in 1992, he was the second draft choice in the history of the Tampa Bay franchise, behind fellow defenceman Roman Hamrlik.

He played 164 NHL games for the Lightning, Edmonton Oilers, Anaheim Mighty Ducks and New York Rangers, totalling five goals and 25 assists, before making his European debut in 2002.

Recently, Bannister found a home in the German Ice Hockey League, where he played four-straight seasons with the Kassel Huskies and set single-season career highs for goals, with 11, and assists, with 32.

He earned top defenceman awards in both 2006 and 2007.

That may have helped persuade the Ottawa brass that Bannister has NHL ability, or can at least be a potential callup while playing for the Binghamton Senators of the American Hockey League.

“I think they have looked at leadership, that I can help with the younger players while providing some depth,” Bannister said. “I’ve been captain or assistant captain with several teams and I’m sure they looked at that.

“Wherever I am, whether in the NHL or the AHL, I just want to help make them a stronger team.

“This is exciting. Most of my family and friends haven’t seen me play in over seven years, and I have a niece and nephew who have never seen me play, so I’m really looking forward to that.

“This is an opportunity I just couldn’t pass up. After playing in Europe and having some success there, it’s an honour to come back across to North America. To get that chance again is fantastic.”

Bannister recently had a chance to catch up with his teammates on the 1993 Memorial Cup squad, which held its first reunion in the Sault last month.

“I had an amazing time,” he said. “The guys who organized it did a great job.

“What was amazing is that it seemed like only yesterday that I had talked to all these guys. We all jelled just like we used to when we were teenagers, no matter where we had gone the last 15 years.”

Bannister’s performance this season could decide how many more years he’ll play the professional game.

“Like I said, it’s a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity, something I didn’t have to think twice about,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to being closer to my family and friends.

“It will be a challenge, but hopefully I’ll do well. If I can play for at least another two or three years, that would be great. This is what I love to do. I love being at the rink and I love being with the guys.

“No matter what happens, I won’t have any regrets.”

Quelle: by Ben Leeson (http://www.saultstar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1703751)

Bekannte Mitspieler

Anmerkung: In der folgenden Tabelle sind einige bekannte Spieler aufgeführt, mit denen Drew Bannister bereits in Nordamerika und anderen europäischen Vereinen in einem Team zusammengespielt hatte. Die Spalte "Verein" bezieht sich dabei auf das gemeinsame Team in der jeweiligen Saison, während in der letzten Spalte aufgelistet wird, durch welchen Umstand oder welche Mannschaft der jeweilige Spieler in Deutschland bekannt wurde. Diese Tabelle kann natürlich keinen Anspruch auf Vollständigkeit erheben sondern soll nur ein kleiner Ausschnitt an interessanten Weggefährten sein.

Name	Verein	Saison	bekannt durch
Aaron Gavey	Atlanta Knights	1994/1995	Köln
Peter Ferraro	Atlanta Knights	1994/1995	Düsseldorf
Chris Ferraro	Atlanta Knights	1994/1995	Düsseldorf
Jim Hiller	Atlanta Knights	1994/1995	Rosenheim, Berlin (Capitals)
Devin Edgerton	Atlanta Knights	1994/1995	Mannheim
Alexander Selivanov	Atlanta Knights	1994/1995	Krefeld
Mark Greig	Atlanta Knights	1995/1996	Hamburg, Kassel, Iserlohn
Aaron Gavey	Atlanta Knights	1994/1995	Köln
Nick Naumenko	Las Vegas Thunder	1998/1999	Mannheim, Kassel
Brad Smyth	Hartford Wolf Pack	1999/2000	Hamburg
Francois Fortier	Hartford Wolf Pack	1999/2000	Schwenningen, Augsburg, Hamburg
Jean-Francois Labbe	Hartford Wolf Pack	1999/2000	Nürnberg
Steve Brulé	Cincinnati Mighty Ducks	2001/2002	Krefeld, Duisburg, Kassel
Josh DeWolf	Cincinnati Mighty Ducks	2001/2002	Kassel
Shawn McNeil	Cincinnati Mighty Ducks	2001/2002	Duisburg, Kassel
Brett Lievers	Oulun Kärpät	2002/2003	Oberhausen, Kassel

Galerie

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