Darren Banks

Darren Alexander Banks (born March 18, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played in 20 NHL games with the Boston Bruins between 1992 and 1994, as well as extensively in the minor leagues and briefly in Europe during a career that lasted from 1989 to 2005. During his career he played predominantly as an enforcer.

Career summary Banks began his collegiate career in 1986 with the Brock Badgers having previously played for the Leamington Flyers. Banks played for the Badgers for three seasons, with his most productive season coming in his final year, registering 33 points in 26 games, along with 88 PIM.

Upon leaving university, Banks turned professional and signed with the Knoxville Cherokees of the ECHL for the 1989–90 season. In his first season as a pro, Banks had his most productive season, registering 47 points in 52 games, whilst also accumulating 258 minutes in the penalty box. The Flames immediately sent him to their IHL affiliate team, the Salt Lake Golden Eagles, Though he played primarily with Boston's farm team in Providence, Banks made his NHL debut on October 8, 1992 against the Hartford Whalers. He made an impression on his debut; receiving a game misconduct penalty as a result of a fight with Scott Daniels in the 2nd period. Over the course of the season, Banks went on to play an additional 15 games with Boston, and dressed 46 times for Providence. Banks remained in the Bruins system the following season, playing for Boston four times, and Providence 41 times.

Banks scored exactly two NHL goals. Both came in the same game, an 8–2 Boston road victory over the San Jose sharks on October 15, 1992.

The 1994–95 season was a nomadic one for Banks, playing 32 games in the AHL for both the Adirondack Red Wings and Portland Pirates, as well as 2 games for IHL side Las Vegas Thunder under coach Chris McSorley, Both Adirondack and the Falcons were farm teams of the Detroit Red Wings. The following season, Banks predominantly played for the Falcons, playing 38 games registering 28 points and 290 PIM. In addition, he played six games for the Utica Blizzard, also of the CoHL, before returning to the Las Vegas Thunder towards the end of the season.

Banks began the 1997–98 season with the Québec Rafales also of the IHL, after being traded along with Jeff Parrott by the Vipers in exchange for Stan Drulia. He played four games in Quebec, before moving to the San Antonio Dragons. His stay in Texas was also short, playing seven games, before returning to the Detroit Vipers with whom he finished the season. The Vipers had another extended playoff run, reaching the final which they ultimately lost to the Chicago Wolves. As a result of his actions, Banks was suspended for 12 games and faced a £500 fine. In addition with his time in the UHL, Banks also played eight games with WCHL side, Phoenix Mustangs.

Between 2001 and 2003 Banks did not play hockey, however, during the 2003-04 season he signed with the Jacksonville Barracudas of the WHA2, playing seven games, scoring three points and registering 25 PIM. which took place in the ice hockey off-season. In the summer of 1995, Banks played for the Anaheim Bullfrogs of the Roller Hockey International league, and, despite initially being unable to stop in roller blades,

Awards and achievements IHL Turner Cup Champion (1997)

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1986–87 Brock University CIAU 24 5 3 8 82 — — — — — 1987–88 Brock University CIAU 26 10 11 21 110 — — — — — 1988–89 Brock University CIAU 26 19 14 33 88 — — — — — 1989–90 Knoxville Cherokees ECHL 52 25 22 47 258 — — — — — 1989–90 Salt Lake Golden Eagles IHL 6 0 0 0 11 — — — — — 1989–90 Fort Wayne Komets IHL 2 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 10 1990–91 Salt Lake Golden Eagles IHL 56 9 7 16 286 3 0 1 1 6 1991–92 Salt Lake Golden Eagles IHL 55 5 5 10 303 — — — — — 1992–93 Boston Bruins NHL 16 2 1 3 64 — — — — — 1992–93 Providence Bruins AHL 43 9 5 14 199 1 0 0 0 0 1993–94 Boston Bruins NHL 4 0 1 1 9 — — — — — 1993–94 Providence Bruins AHL 41 6 3 9 189 — — — — — 1994–95 Adirondack Red Wings AHL 20 3 2 5 65 — — — — — 1994–95 Portland Pirates AHL 12 1 2 3 38 — — — — — 1994–95 Las Vegas Thunder IHL 2 0 0 0 19 — — — — — 1994–95 Detroit Falcons CoHL 22 9 10 19 51 12 3 5 8 59 1995–96 Detroit Falcons CoHL 38 11 17 28 290 — — — — — 1995–96 Utica Blizzard CoHL 6 1 2 3 22 — — — — — 1995–96 Las Vegas Thunder IHL 5 0 2 2 10 10 0 0 0 54 1996–97 Detroit Vipers IHL 64 10 13 23 306 20 4 5 9 40 1997–98 Québec Rafales IHL 4 0 1 1 9 — — — — — 1997–98 San Antonio Dragons IHL 7 0 0 0 6 — — — — — 1997–98 Detroit Vipers IHL 59 16 14 30 175 21 2 3 5 97 1998–99 Detroit Vipers IHL 58 6 12 18 296 3 0 0 0 35 1999–00 London Knights BISL 23 8 2 10 101 — — — — — 1999–00 Port Huron Border Cats UHL 17 3 5 8 12 — — — — — 2000–01 Knoxville Speed UHL 20 4 7 11 50 — — — — — 2000–01 Port Huron Border Cats UHL 4 0 0 0 4 — — — — — 2000–01 Phoenix Mustangs WCHL 8 0 1 1 36 — — — — — 2003–04 Jacksonville Barracudas WHA2 7 1 2 3 25 — — — — — 2004–05 Kansas City Outlaws UHL 2 0 0 0 2 — — — — — IHL totals 318 46 55 101 1421 58 6 9 15 242 NHL totals 20 2 2 4 73 — — — — —

Roller Hockey Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1995 Anaheim Bullfrogs RHI 17 13 8 21 86 — — — — — 1996 Anaheim Bullfrogs RHI 9 1 4 5 46 — — — — — 1996 Long Island Jawz RHI 4 2 1 3 21 — — — — — RHI totals 30 16 13 29 153 — — — — —

Post-playing career As of November 2019, Banks works as an Executive casino host at The D Casino in Las Vegas and, upon its opening, will undertake the same role at Circa. He formerly worked for CP Rail. and has previously worked with the Detroit Hockey Association, and the Hockey in the Hood tournament started by Willie O'Ree, in an effort to introduce inner-city minority children to hockey.

In November 2013, Banks was among the 10 players who launched a class action lawsuit against the NHL over head injuries and concussions, led by lawyer and former NFL player Mel Owens. As a result of his time playing hockey, Banks suffers from memory problems.