NA Now: Kenai River Brown Bears
The NA Now video series features an in-depth look into all NAHL teams as they prepare for the 2026-27 season. One team will be highlighted every day, leading up to the start of the regular season on September 11, 2026. Each interview features each team’s head coach, as they dive into detail on the expectations and outlooks for this upcoming season.
Kenai River Brown Bears
Head Coach: Darren Banks (2nd season)
2025-26 Regular Season Record: 21-37-1-0 – 43 points (7th in Midwest Division)
2025-26 Leading Scorer: Braden Hansberger (12-25–37)
2026-27 Division: Midwest Division
Location: Soldotna, Alaska
Formation Year: 2007 (20th season)
Darren Banks shares more about how playing in Soldotna is a different experience for many skaters, and why playing on an Olympic ice sheet requires a different skill set.
“We play on that Olympic ice surface up there; it is gigantic. And so the takeaway is that brains really matter. You [need] hockey IQ if you are on that ice surface; a mistake is a little bit bigger. With that, I think if you're able to think of the game, that helps a ton, and obviously skating [plays a role]. We want to be hard to play against, and I think the group that's coming in really embodies that compete level.”
Banks heads into his second year as the bench boss of the Kenai River Brown Bears. He looks to push his team into being a tough club to play against and how he has used the summer months to prepare for the year ahead.
Next up: Johnstown Tomahawks
