The 36 year old, who was picked in the second round of the 1992 NHL Draft by Tampa Bay, joins the club having last year signed a one-year two-way contract with the Ottawa Senators of the NHL, spending the season with their AHL affiliate the Binghamton Senators. He replaces Latvian Kriss Grundmanis, who was yesterday released from his contract with the club but will continue to train with the team in the hope of finding another team in the country.
Bannister joins the Stingrays having spent seven years in the NHL, making 164 appearances in the top flight between 95-96 and 00-01 with the likes of Anaheim Ducks, Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers. He has since made stops in the Russian Superleague, SM Liga and spent three years in the German DEL. Last year he returned to North America, registering four goals and ten assists as he captained Binghamton for 57 AHL games, including the AHL Winter Classic in which the Senators took on the Syracuse Crunch in an outdoor game.
The Belleville, Ontario native is an experienced winner having won the junior CHL Memorial Cup, German Bundesliga, where he was also named defenceman of the year in 07/08, and AHL Calder Cup twice as well as finishing runner up in the SM Liga with Karpat in 02/03.
His signing is undoubtedly a massive one for Sylvain Cloutier and the Stingrays and one that, by its very nature, shores up a defence that has leaked 54 goals against in 12 league games so far this year, an average of 4.5 per game.
Cloutier was naturally delighted with his capture of the former 200 game AHLer:
"He is the real deal. he is a proven winner. He has won a lot of championships and knows what it takes. He is a character guy. It's the biggest signing I have had and I am extremely excited Drew has agreed to come to the Stingrays. It was a no-brainer. The calibre of player we are getting is top notch. He has been around a long time and his resume speaks for itself."The Canadian's CV is impressive reading for any Stingrays fan beginning to doubt the club's prospects this year and proves, if there were any doubt, the new ownership group in Hull are intent on making the club successful both on and off the ice.
Although he won't be in the line up this week for games against Sheffield, Newcastle and Belfast, he will more likely join up with his new team mates before next weekend's fixtures against Cardiff and Nottingham.
