Drew Banks is the interim head coach for the Blues, and Takaczuk is the interim head coach for the T-BIRDS.

Missouri’s St. Louis — Doug Armstrong, President of Hockey Operations and General Manager of the St. Louis Blues, made the announcement on Tuesday night that Drew Bannister, head coach of the Springfield Thunderbirds, will take over as interim head coach in place of Craig Berube. Bannister will depart for St. Louis on Wednesday, and on Thursday, when the Blues play the Ottawa Senators, he will start his first game behind the bench.

Bannister, 49, has played for the Blues’ AHL affiliate in Springfield for the previous three seasons, helping the team to a 93-58-19 regular-season record. The native of Belleville, Ontario, has also led the Thunderbirds to multiple postseason appearances, including the Eastern Conference title and Calder Cup Final in 2021–2022.

Bannister started his coaching career in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), where he led the Soo Greyhounds for three seasons as head coach and served as an assistant coach for Owen Sound for three seasons. In addition, he was associate coach of the Utica Comets and head coach of the San Antonio Rampage of the American Hockey League. During his more than 20-year playing career, Bannister played in 164 NHL regular-season games with the New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Edmonton Oilers, and Anaheim Mighty Ducks.

Furthermore, Daniel Tkaczuk has been named as the Thunderbirds’ temporary head coach in Springfield by general manager Kevin Maxwell.