Christopher Gibson of Finland played with Chicoutimi in the QMJHL (CP Images)

The Ontario Hockey League reportedly sent out an email to its member clubs saying that in goaltenders could be selected in the import draft next month. The idea that perhaps the Canadian Hockey League and its member leagues ought to be angling to get more domestic talent between the pipes in major junior has been circulating for a couple of weeks now.

Last week, it was suggested that the CHL cut off the supply of import goaltenders flowing into the Western, Ontario, and Québec leagues in an effort to force teams to play more domestic talent. The idea, it would appear, would be less about developing the game and advertising the CHL as a top developmental league but rather one focused on developing exclusively Canadian and American players.

Philosophically, it's easy to disagree with the premise. A post from Neate Sager on Buzzing the Net from last Thursday not only suggested that the idea was "protectionism" but that the success of European goaltenders in the NHL influences the development of goaltenders abroad.

Nathan MacKinnon leaps to celebrate his clinching Memorial Cup goal (Steve Hiscock photo)

"Nate the Great"? Sounds too cliché. "Nate the Skate"? Perhaps.

The Great Nate Debate of 2013 is for more than a nickname, of course. The story of the 2013 MasterCard Memorial Cup was all about the top prospects headlining the event. Nathan MacKinnon's name perhaps wasn't in the biggest type on the marquee, but he out-played and out-produced his rivals on the largest stage he could—the Sunday finale.

Final score: Halifax - 6, Portland - 4. MacKinnon's three goals, one in the first and one in the second (plus an empty netter), were followed up by an assist he earned by cutting to the net and teammate Konrad Abeltshauser followed up with the garbage. If MacKinnon's insurance goal didn't seal the game, and the QMJHL's first Memorial Cup in Western Canada since 1980,

The Halifax Mooseheads are champions. Primarily, they're the QMJHL champions, but they won the CHL's showcase event as well in defining fashion. They beat WHL Champion Portland 7-4 in the round robin, and OHL Champs London 9-2. All that was left was a Sunday finish, and the Mooseheads showed up, taking an early lead and never relinquishing.

No. 1 Star - Nathan MacKinnon, Halifax Mooseheads

And it was MacKinnon's night. Perhaps Jonathan Drouin is the better playmaker and puck-carrier of the two. There have been other nights this season, surely, when MacKinnon was far and away the better player of the Mooseheads' dynamic duo. It helps that the world got to see his star shine after a disappointing December tournament at the World Juniors when Team Canada coach Steve Spott nailed him to the bench and kept him on the fourth line.

MacKinnon, who had been propped up as a player who perhaps could have gone ahead of Nail Yakupov of the Sarnia Sting last season if he had been draft-eligible, was quiet. It wasn't his fault, but MacKinnon showed what he can do in front of a national audience all week. With four points on Sunday, he cleared Portland's Ty Rattie in the tournament's leading point-getters, finishing with 13 in just four games, and two hat-tricks against the stingy defence of the Portland Winterhawks.

Halifax's top line has propelled them to Sunday's final (Canadian Press)

Nathan MacKinnon has a share of the points lead at the MasterCard Memorial Cup with Ty Rattie. Rattie, the St. Louis Blues prospect and Portland Winterhawks product, has played the one extra game in the tournament. He has five goals in four games and eight points.

MacKinnon, of the Mooseheads, conveniently taking on Rattie's Winterhawks in tonight's final game, has four goals and eight points in just three games. His offence has been absolutely insane, but half of it came in Halifax's 7-4 win over Portland in the round robin stage. MacKinnon had three goals and an assist in that game.

If you haven't watched any Halifax games but are looking to tune into tonight's final, here's a primer: the Mooseheads top line is really, really good. They deploy MacKinnon, who is the No. 2-ranked Central Scouting Service prospect, and he's on a line with Jonathan Drouin, ranked No, 3, and Martin Frk, the Czech import selected No. 49 by the Detroit Red Wings last season. Frk has six points and Drouin has four points.

Portland edged the London Knights in the semifinal (CP Images)

A game that began slowly picked up in the second and had its defining moment in the third period when St. Louis Blues prospect Ty Rattie ripped a wrist shot that gave the Portland Winterhawks a 2-1 lead that they would not relenquish. The win will put the Winterhawks into the MasterCard Memorial Cup final game on Sunday against the Halifax Mooseheads.

Final score, 2-1. After two seasons of losing in the WHL Championship series, the Winterhawks have done good on their Memorial Cup bid, going 3-1 in the tournament and land a spot in the final. That's all Travis Green could have asked from his squad: one shot to win.

Portland goaltender Mac Carruth had to make a couple of big saves late, his most noteworthy being a glove stop off of an Olli Määttä backhander with two minutes to play, and was strong in the final seconds as time ticked off the clock and ends another season for back-to-back OHL Champion London, who will get an automatic entry next season as the host.

No. 1 Star - Ty Rattie, Portland Winterhawks

Did Portland Winterhawks play-by-play man Andy Kemper ever copyright the term "Airdrie Assassin"? Ty Rattie has lived up to his billing so far this tournament. He scored his fourth goal in four games Friday night in Saskatoon with a perfect wrist shot midway through the third period. The shot not only flummoxed London goaltender Jake Patterson, but left another victim—we understand that the Saskatoon R.C.M.P. dispatch has been taking calls all week regarding the mysterious disappearance of several water bottles on the top of hockey nets.

Seth Griffith after scoring yet another pretty goal (CP Images)

"And we will see you tomorrow, Knights."

It was another one of those games at the MasterCard Memorial Cup. After submitting to a humiliating 9-2 loss on Tuesday, the London Knights took it out on the host Saskatoon Blades with as dominant a performance as you'll ever see. Three teams remain in the quest for the Memorial Cup, as the field is trimmed to the three CHL championship teams.

Bo Horvat kicked off the scoring on a shorthanded penalty shot early in the first period, and while Andrey Makarov held the Blades in the game, managing to make a couple of big stops on a Saskatoon four-minute powerplay gone wrong. Alas, eventually he broke under the strain of the relentless London pressure. The OHL champs got goals from six different goal scorers and put up a three-spot early in the third period, eventually earning a 6-1 victory.

The Knights hoped to play better defensively in front of their goaltender tonight, but they put on a terrific offensive performance as well.

No. 1 Star - Bo Horvat, London Knights

Bo knows penalty killing, evidently. He opened the scoring on a shorthanded breakaway that turned into a shorthanded penalty shot, and was instrumental in turning the Blades back on their four-minute long powerplay in the second period that generated nothing.

Horvat added an assist on the sixth London goal, but he belongs here based on his PK work primarily. That long penalty kill was probably what won the game for the Knights. It was only 1-0 at that point and the Blades had an excellent opportunity to tie the score.

Saskatoon Blades' head coach Lorne Molleken (CP)

During last season's MasterCard Memorial Cup, it was the London Knights who brought the heat defensively. Led by a five-man unit up front centred by Austin Watson and anchored by Jarred Tinordi on defence, the Knights blocked shots, trapped, and were an opportunistic team that afforded little space to skilled players like Max Domi and Andreas Athanasiou.

What a difference a year makes. The Knights were lit up for nine by the Halifax Mooseheads, and their first line is considerably more offensive than it was last season. Domi and Bo Horvat and Seth Griffith have combined for the Cup's most memorable moment thus far, although we're only two-thirds of the way through the tournament.

It's more up-tempo and more flowing. London games have been a treat to watch, unlike perhaps last season where they shut down rushes and restricted scoring chances. No... that title this season goes to the Saskatoon Blades, and Lorne Molleken's underdog, host squad that are pulling out all the stops to win.

Chase De Leo smiles after putting Portland ahead to stay (Liam Richards, The Canadian Press)

It was a tie game through two, but the Portland Winterhawks got a couple of goals in succession at the start of the third period. Their opponents, the normally defensive and stifling Saskatoon Blades, playing in the MasterCard Memorial Cup despite not having won a WHL playoff game, had to open up their game in an effort to come back.

Guess how that turned out for them.

With 9:44 to go in the third period, Portland's Ty Rattie cut into the zone and beat Blades' goaltender Andrey Makarov with a clean wrist shot. While the Blades held the physical edge through two periods, the Winterhawks were generating more shots and offensive zone opportunities. Early in the third they were able to capitalize and advance to Friday's semi-final. Final score: 4-2.

Martin Frk scored a hat-trick through two periods vs. London (CP)Well, that wasn't particularly close.

Jake Patterson came in goal to replace Anthony Stolarz in London's goal, just like he had done during the OHL playoffs. It didn't help the Knights in net any. Patterson was lit up for five goals in the first period against the QMJHL Champion Halifax Mooseheads from four different goal scorers. Halifax ran roughshod over the Knights with a 9-2 win to improve their tournament record to 2-1 and secure a spot in at least the tournament semi-final.

Halifax had a 5-0 lead after one and 8-2 after two, easing off the gas pedal for the third period and giving depth players time on the powerplay and resting top line of Nathan MacKinnon, Jonathan Drouin and Martin Frk, three players who factored prominently into the Mooseheads' advantage.

No. 1 Star - Martin Frk, Halifax Mooseheads

This star could have gone to Drouin, one of the tournament headliners, who had an assist on each of the Czech winger's goals. The Detroit Red Wings prospect however had a Frkin' good time out on the ice Tuesday, showing just as much proficiency in the neutral and offensive zones as Nate and Jo.

After Halifax got the 7-0 lead midway through two, the Knights responded with a pair of quick goals that could have given the OHL champs some momentum going into the third, but Frk shut that down with a marker just :40 seconds after Matt Rupert's 7-2 goal, recording his hat-trick marker with just 1:57 to go in the frame.