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.
[2] His success in Tennessee caught the attention of the NHL's Calgary Flames, who signed him to a contract at the end of the ECHL season.
[5] Though he played primarily with Boston's farm team in Providence, Banks made his NHL debut on October 8, 1992 against the Hartford Whalers.
[6] 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.
In the off-season O'Connell was promoted to Assistant General Manager of the Boston Bruins, resulting in Banks being released from the team.
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,[3] before finishing the season with the Detroit Falcons of the CoHL after joining the team in February 1995.
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.
[2] The 1996–97 season saw Banks play exclusively for the IHL's Detroit Vipers, where he scored 23 points in 64 games and also accrued a career-high 306 PIM.
[12] 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.
[14] However, prior to the resultant suspension and fine being announced, Banks had left the UK and signed for the Port Huron Border Cats of the UHL.
[17] Banks returned to the Bullfrogs the following season, playing nine games with the team, before being traded to the Long Island Jawz in exchange for a sixth-round draft pick and future considerations in July 1996.