After going most of the first half of the season without any call-ups to their NHL parent club, the Springfield Thunderbirds saw that streak come to an end with two call-ups in the last week.
The first was forward Hugh McGing, who was called up on Saturday before a game vs. the Bridgeport Islanders. During his run with Springfield this season, McGing was able to tally 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) in 21 games.
While McGing may stick if he performs, the second call-up has no chance of coming down. Following the firing of St. Louis head coach Craig Berube, Blues President of Hockey Operations and General Manager, Doug Armstrong named Springfield bench boss Drew Bannister as the team’s interim head coach.
Bannister will travel to St. Louis immediately, and begin his duties behind the bench in St. Louis on Thursday, when the Blues host the Ottawa Senators. This will be Bannister’s first job in the NHL.
In 170 games with the Thunderbirds, Bannister held a 93-58-19 record. During this time, he even made it to the playoffs in two consecutive years including one to the Calder Cup Finals. Before that, Bannister was the head coach of the San Antonio Rampage, and was an associate coach with the Utica Comets.
Prior to that, he also coached in the Ontario Hockey League and was the head coach with the Soo Greyhounds and an assistant with the Owen Sound.
What’s next?
In the same breath as elevating Bannister, Springfield general manager Kevin Maxwell announced that Daniel Tzaczuk will replace Bannister behind the bench as interim head coach for the Thunderbirds. Tzaczuk has served as an assistant in St. Louis’ system since 2016 when he was an assistant with the Chicago Wolves.
After one season as a skills coach in the NHL, Tzaczuk has been worked under Bannister since the 2018 season and was even promoted to associate head coach in 2022.
Tzaczuk’s first game behind the bench will be tonight, December 13 when Springfield takes on the Rochester Americans – puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
