Soo Greyhounds head coach Drew Bannister has deep roots to Manitoulin

SAULT STE. MARIE — The records will show that Drew Bannister was born in Belleville, Ontario on April 9, 1974.

But Bannister himself will laughingly say that he probably lived in the Eastern Ontario town “for no more than a few hours. I was born in the hospital in Belleville … and that is about it. I wasn’t there long. 

“We moved to Manitoulin Island when I was just a little guy,” Bannister recalled. “Manitoulin Island is where I grew up. The first organized hockey team I ever played for was in Gore Bay. Then I played for a team in Little Current. Later as a family we moved to North Bay and then Sudbury. I have always considered myself to be a northern boy who has deep roots to Manitoulin.”