Five things we’ve learned about Blues coach Drew Bannister and the way he wants to play

ST. LOUIS — After being named the St. Louis Blues’ interim head last week, Drew Bannister boarded a plane from Baltimore to St. Louis on Wednesday. He pulled out a notebook and scribbled down what he wanted to say to his new players — some of whom he didn’t know — in their first meeting.

“They had heard all the stuff about accountability and compete when (Blues general manager Doug Armstrong) talked to them, so I didn’t really have to hammer on that,” Bannister said. “There’s going to have to be some things that have to be fixed. But I wanted to make sure that I let these guys know I wasn’t coming in here to just blow things up.”

As head coach of the Blues’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds, Bannister admitted that he didn’t have a lot of time to watch the parent club. But from the familiarity he did have, and what Armstrong told him, he knew the team needed better starts, vast improvement on the power play and a better pace of play away from the puck.

“(But) the structure of the game, I don’t think it’s that far off where it needs to be,” Bannister said. “There’s a lot of good hockey players on this team. This is a good hockey team. But right now, we have to get it going in the right direction — the competitive side of our hockey team — the standard has to be raised here.

“I’m going to make some changes myself as I get more comfortable, but I have to take a step back and observe a little bit too over the next 7-10 days and see what needs to be done. It still won’t change the directive of we have to be a much more highly competitive team and also the accountability process is going to come starting today.”

Since Bannister said those words, the Blues are 2-0 with victories over Ottawa (4-2) and Dallas (4-3 in OT). The pair of performances haven’t been perfect, but there have been developments to like, particularly in areas that the first-time NHL coach foreshadowed.

There’s no guarantee it will continue — teams typically get an initial jolt from a coaching change and the schedule will get tougher — but if you’re wondering what Bannister would bring to a club spending to the salary cap and playing .500 hockey, we’re starting to see it.

Accountability and compete

When Bannister was en route to St. Louis, Armstrong was addressing the media at the Blues’ practice facility. The GM mentioned several times that he wanted the coaching change to bring more accountability and compete.

There are 11 players on the Blues’ roster who suited up for Bannister in the AHL and each can attest to his ability in those departments.

“I had the chance to play for him last year for about 25 games, and he’s good,” Neighbours said. “When I was down there, it didn’t matter where you were playing in the lineup. If you were going, you were going to play that night. If you’re not playing, you’re going to know why.”

It’s one thing, though, for Bannister to have the ear of the young players who know him and are trying to stay in the lineup. But what about the Blues’ veterans, who see a minor-league coach with no NHL experience?

“Whether he has an interim tag on him or not, you always respect your coach and you always work hard for him,” Blues captain Brayden Schenn said. “He’s getting a chance after I think it’s 12 years of coaching, and he’s excited for the opportunity. So it’s on guys like myself and the vets around the locker room to buy in and preach what he’s saying in our locker room.”

Before Bannister’s first meeting with the entire Blues team, he sat down with Schenn and alternate captains Colton Parayko, Justin Faulk and Robert Thomas.

“I expect the four captains to set the tone for the rest of the guys,” Bannister said. “Schenner and guys like that, I’m new to them, but the honesty thing, I know (former Blues coach Craig Berube) was very direct and honest, and they’re going to get the same thing with me. The message might be different in how it’s delivered, but it’s going to be direct and it’s going to be honest.”

It’s too early to determine whether Bannister’s approach will work with the Blues, but he believes in his track record.

“It starts with me in practice,” he said. “I expect teams in practice to practice with pace. I expect execution, and when it’s time to compete, we compete. It builds trust and respect within the group. If you’ve watched our team in Springfield over the last three years, we are a highly competitive team, and whether we win or lose, I’ve very rarely walked away disappointed with the effort in our group.”

Getting to their game

One of the Blues’ biggest issues in the first 28 games of the season was slow starts. Berube said players were feeling out what type of game it was going to be and responding accordingly. Schenn added that they were picking and choosing when they wanted to play.

“We’ve got to get to the fight early,” Bannister said.

On Thursday against Ottawa, the Blues did that. They outshot the Senators 14-6 in the first period and led 1-0 at the intermission.

“I really liked our start,” Bannister said. “We dictated a lot of the play early on, spent a lot of time in the offensive zone, which allowed us to get to our game. We played more on our toes. The start was what we needed.”

Blues get Drew Bannister a win in his first game as head coach. Putting Buchnevich-Thomas-Kyrou together payed off tonight.
Blues were more engaged physically than they have been recently. Won 61% of puck battles compared to 24% vs DET a couple of nights ago.

— Mike Kelly (@MikeKellyNHL) December 15, 2023

The start against Dallas wasn’t as strong. The shots were tied 9-9 at the end of the first period, but the Stars led 2-0, scoring twice in the first seven minutes of the game. But the Blues got a power-play goal by Brandon Saad, and for the first time this season, they erased a two-goal deficit when Jordan Kyrou scored on a breakaway for a 2-2 score.

They took a 3-2 lead on a goal by Kevin Hayes late in the second period, and after Dallas tied the score, 3-3, they won on Colton Parayko’s OT winner.

Before Bannister took over, the Blues had been outshot 323-302 and outscored 35-24 in the second period this season. But against Ottawa and Dallas, they had a combined 28 shots on goal in the second period, outscoring them 4-1.

“(Dallas) is a good hockey team and we came in with the right mindset of how we needed to play and what we needed to do against this hockey team tonight,” Bannister said. “Early on, we weren’t able to get to that game, but we did get to that game.

“We played with a lot of pace, especially in the second period. We managed the puck well, and when we had opportunities to attack, we took those opportunities. But when we were running out of time and space, the guys made smart decisions.”

Power-play traction

Minutes before Bannister’s first practice with the Blues began, he had the power-play units on the ice, moving the puck around 5-on-0 with no penalty-killing unit pressuring them.

“He likes to have us come out 10 minutes before practice and do a little power play, get some touches and get the feel for it,” Kyrou said.

It will take a lot more than that to fix a unit that was 7-for-83 (8.4 percent) and ranked 31st in the NHL when the coaching change was made.

“I trust in the staff,” Bannister said. “I’m going to sit in to see what is happening, but the changes that we can make right now is getting our groups out on the ice and getting them touches with no pressure and then getting them into situations in games.”

The Blues have had four power plays in Bannister’s two games, and they are 1-for-4 with four shots on net. They had one shot against Dallas on Saturday, and it resulted in a goal by Brandon Saad.

OHHHH, OHHHH
HEY!!! HEY!!! #stlblues pic.twitter.com/60dOpUOvyt

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) December 17, 2023

Saad’s goal is what allowed the Blues to climb back from their 2-0 hole against the Stars.

“Those are the times you need the power play to step up and kind of bring some life into the group, and that’s what it did,” Blues defenseman Justin Faulk said. “We got through the rest of the first playing a good game and rolled it into the second period and we were able to go from there. It sparked us.”

In no way, shape or form does this mean that better days are ahead for the power play, but in the broad spectrum, Bannister said, it was a big goal.

“When it opens up, it’s going to help this hockey team,” he said. “The power play has got to get better — we know that — and I believe in this group. And moving forward it will be better for us.”

Kyrou trending up

It’s been a hard season for Kyrou, who had five goals and 17 points in 28 games under Berube.

Bannister was asked in his first press conference how he could coax more out of the Blues’ leading scoring from last season with 37 goals.

“Communication,” he said. “The players want feedback, they want honesty, and there’s a certain way that it’s delivered and how it gets across to the players. But in the same sense, they have to be able to meet me halfway.

“With a player like Jordan Kyrou, he’s an outstanding player. I’ve coached against him in the Ontario Hockey League. I watched him dominate in the American League. I see what he did here last year. He’s going through a tough spell, but I’m here to help him and I believe in him.”

This week was the hardest week of Kyrou’s career, but he ended it on top.

After being booed by Blues fans because of his comment regarding his relationship with Berube, Kyrou responded with a three-point game (one goal, two assists) and had nine shots in the win over Dallas. He tied the score, 2-2, and then set up the OT game-winner by Parayko.

Jordan Kyrou has Enterprise Center rockin' with this breakaway beauty. #stlblues pic.twitter.com/P3uVtcrOL2

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) December 17, 2023

“I thought he was outstanding — outstanding!” Bannister said. “He looked like an elite player in the league and he did things the right way. He was tracking down pucks, stopping on pucks, winning wall battles. Every time he touched the puck he was dangerous.”

Bannister deserves some credit for Kyrou’s work on the OT winner, when he used his speed to drive wide on Stars’ Miro Heiskanen and beat the defenseman to the net.

“I sat down with Jordan and showed him a few clips,” Bannister said. “He has deadly speed to the outside and that’s one thing that he hasn’t been using enough and we saw it tonight. He drove that D wide, he got a step on him, and he brings it to the net hard and (Parayko) was there to clean it up. That’s what he needed to get back.”

Playing for each other

Another element Bannister wanted to see from the Blues after his arrival was coming together as a team.

In the second period against Ottawa, defenseman Tyler Tucker wasn’t necessarily sticking up for anyone. But with a 3-0 lead, he accepted a fight request from Senators captain Brady Tkachuk and did more than hold his own.

“Tyler Tucker going out and getting in that fight against a big, strong man showed a lot of courage, and it showed me that we played for each other,” Bannister said.

Tucker vs. Tkachuk. The gloves are off.

And with Big Walt in the house. 🥊 #stlblues

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— Bally Sports Midwest (@BallySportsMW) December 15, 2023

Tucker, who’s been on Bannister’s AHL team said that stems from his leadership.

“There’s certain things he does throughout the year that make you respect him and you want to be the best player you can for him,” Tucker said.

Goaltender Joel Hofer, another player on Bannister’s minor-league team, agrees.

“He really wants to win, and I like that out of a coach, always striving for more,” Hofer said. “Even after a good game, there’s always something that we could get better at. Every day, he’s always got something to focus on for the next game or practice. Most guys want to get better every day, but he’s always got that intensity. It’s important for someone to push us, and he makes sure to keep us sharp.”

(Photo: Dilip Vishwanat / Getty Images)