Having announced the welcome return of Josh Kelly to the Herd for the new season, everyone at the GalxC Cooling Services Basingstoke Bison are so pleased to continue our Stampede to the 2022 / 23 season with the news this morning that our highly promising young British D-man Tom Banner will be putting on a Bison uniform once again.
19 year old, 6’ 3” Banner is not just a born in Basingstoke player, but a made in Basingstoke player, having played for the Bison at every level from Under 15 through to the senior team.
Tom made his senior Bison debut during the 2018/19, the same season in which he also made his debut for the Basingstoke Buffalo, before making a further 25 appearances for the NIHL2 side that season. The 2019/20 season saw him return to the Buffalo, icing in a further 16 games.
Although the Pandemic halted Banner’s progress for 2020/21, 2021/22 certainly made up for lost time, as not only did he gain valuable experience by playing for the Slough Jets in NIHL1, contributing 2 assists in 15 games, more importantly he came to the attention of Bison Coach Ashley Tait who gave Tom a chance at National League level, which he grabbed with both hands ,making 25 appearances, collecting his 1st senior point and 19 penalty minutes.
No doubt everyone connected to the Bison will be hoping the 2022/23 season sees young Banner continue to impress in the jersey of his hometown club.
Head Coach Tait has this to say regarding Tom being back for his first full season,
“Obviously Tom didn’t start the season with us but once we brought him in I feel he gave a great account of himself. He’s got huge potential and I’m expecting to build on what we saw with him last year with increased ice time and responsibilities in the right areas”.
While the Tom himself commented about being a Bison player said,
“Last season was a great experience, coming into the team over Christmas, and learning so much from the coaches and my team mates.
I can’t wait to put the Bison shirt back on and play in front of the best fans in the league”.
Keep your eyes peeled over the weekend as we release even more player signings and news as the club prepares for our stampede into the 2022 / 23 Planet Ice NIHL National League season …
