Kimberley native Carter Bancks is returning to the Utica Comets.
Friday, The 26-year-old East Kootenay product officially ensured his tenure with the American Hockey League’s Comets will continue when he signed a two-year contract extension to remain in Utica.
“I could not be happier to be coming back to Utica,” Bancks told UticaComets.com. “I have had the most fun of my life playing for the Comets and in front of the best fans in professional sports. The way the community has embraced us and supported us has made Utica feel like a second home.”
The 5-foot-11, 181-pound Bancks posted career numbers during the 2015-16 AHL campaign, establishing personal bests in goals (14), assists (25) and points (39) through 76 games. Over the course of a 357-game AHL career with the Comets and Abbotsford Heat, Bancks has registered 35 goals and 70 assists for 105 points.
After finishing third in the AHL’s North Division with a record of 38-26-8-4 at the conclusion of the regular season, the Comets fell 3-1 in a best-of-five first-round playoff series with the Albany Devils.
Following a junior career that featured 262 regular season games with the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes (58-120-178) and 62 games with the KIJHL’s Kimberley Dynamiters (25-54-79), Bancks signed a free agent contract with the NHL’s Calgary Flames.
The gritty forward first joined the Comets in 2014, following three seasons with the AHL affiliate of the Flames, the Abbotsford Heat.