Bo Horvat (left) is one of 3 Knights who could go in the first round of the NHL draft (Geoff Robins, The Canadian Press)

The London Knights have one all-purpose remedy: go to Bo.

The major junior hockey post-season is typically seen as the proving ground for prospects, the point where the accelerated develops gain separation. London centre Bo Horvat has done so through the first three rounds of post-season, making a case that 18-going-on-25 style makes him an OHL playoff MVP candidate. Horvat's 12 points (9G-3A) in 14 games represents only half the output of fellow super sophomore Max Domi, but the 6-foot, 203-pound centre has embodied being sound in all facets of the game.

"To be relied on by the coaching staff heavily as a 17-year-old shows that they have a lot of trust in me," Horvat said recently. "I like it. It adds a little bit more pressure. It pushes you even harder throughout the year."

Nine goals in 14 playoff games would be impressive in and of itself. Horvat (whose minor hockey odyssey, incidentally, was chronicled entertainingly in Ken Campbell's acclaimed book Selling The Dream) has been an all-purpose player for London. His checking and faceoff work helped London limit OHL scoring champion Vince Trocheck to three points during a five-game Western Conference final.

Combing all corners of the country and the blogosphere for your junior hockey headlines ...

WHL

The NHL draft lottery goes tonight, so if there are any Florida Panthers fans in the greater Portland area ... (CBC Sports)

Stuff you cannot fabricate: The Battle of Alberta is going to a Game 7 which will be played on the 27th anniversary of the Steve Smith game. Not that you would want any defenceman on the Hitmen or Oil Kings to relive that infamy. Also, it's in the same arena. (Calgary Sun, Edmonton Journal)

Will Calgary or Edmonton be able to handle the Portland Winterhawks' speed in the final? (Oregon Live)

Why Oil Kings GM Bob Green prefers to watch games on his laptop, even when he is in the building. (Edmonton Journal)

There's no shame for the Kamloops Blazers in falling short in the Western Conference final, writes Gregg Drinnan. (Kamloops Daily News)

Not hockey per se, but Matt Calkins explains why the media should phase out the term "concussion." (San Diego Union-Tribune)

OHL

Sudbury Wolves grad Frank Corrado appears to be in the lineup for the Vancouver Canucks' playoff opener, reports Elliot Pap.

Based on practice and reading between AV's lines, it appears Frank Corrado will start playoffs on 3rd pairing, #badforballard #canucks

— Elliott Pap (@ElliottPap) April 29, 2013

The Barrie Colts get Anthony Camara back for Game 7 in Belleville, but now third-year defenceman Jake Dotchin has been suspended for the decider of the Eastern Conference final.

Jake Dotchin of Barrie Colts suspended 5 games by #OHL for his check from behind in Game 6 vs Belleville. Obviously misses Game 7 tonight

— Bayshore News (@NewsBayshore) April 29, 2013

Connor McDavid set Hockey Canada records with 8 goals and 14 points, while only being 16 (Terry Wilson, OHL Images)

Connor McDavid is really, really ridiculously creative with the puck and competitive to boot, but you know that already. The better question is whether Canada seizes on its triumph at the IIHF world under-18 championship which was cemented by Sunday's riveting 3-2 gold-medal game win that snapped Team USA's four-year reign.

McDavid and mates winning in Sochi counts as significant. It represents a reboot of sorts, winning a tournament where it's typically struggled just three months after its 14-year medal streak was snapped at the more prestigious world junior championship. (No doubt there were some fans who panicked after the bronze-medal game boondoggle after realizing Canada has only five potential returning players). So one shouldn't get too hung up on Canada being outshot 35-12 by the U.S. since it was dealing with an obvious fatigue factor. There was some luck involved, but there always is, and Canada went wire-to-wire at 7-0 at an event which is just as competitive as that other teenager tournament that commands centre stage the week after Christmas. One should also keep in mind that this spring is actually exceptional for the number of 16- and 17-year-olds who were unavailable to coach Don Hay due to either injuries or competing in the OHL, QMJHL or WHL playoffs.

Canada does not collectively thump its chest over its performance in the U18 the way it did when the country was dominating the world U20 (aka the world junior or WJC) from 2005-09. It might want to start toning up those pectorals, though.

Vancouver Canucks prospect Brendan Gaunce scored the first two Bulls goals on Saturday (Aaron Bell, OHL Images)

One could say the Barrie Colts and Belleville Colts each played like they knew a Game 7 was in the offing. Or strain for a simile and say Saturday was akin to a long-running TV series that has run out of steam and needs to pad out the story before the final season. Two rather random Brendan Gaunce goals and some superlative Malcolm Subban 'tending vaulted the Belleville Bulls to a series-tying win, while the Barrie Colts struggled without first-line wings Anthony Camara and Zach Hall. On with the post-game questions:

London celebrates Max Domi's overtime goal and their trip back to the OHL final (Terry Wilson, OHL Images)

Max Domi struck before the ice was even dry in overtime to send the London Knights on to the OHL final, capping a five-point night in a 5-4 Game 5 win over the Plymouth Whalers. In the Eastern final, the Barrie Colts might have lost more than their first chance to clinch, with two top-6 forwards checking out early in a loss at Belleville. On with the post-game questions:

WHL

Everything you need to know about the NHL draft lottery and who gets first crack at drafting Seth Jones. (Future Considerations)

There is no tomorrow for the Kamloops Blazers entering Game 5 of the Western final at Portland. (CBC Kamloops)

Can the Edmonton Oil Kings break out to a 3-2 series lead over Calgary despite captain Griffin Reinhart being sidelined? (Edmonton Journal)

A definite should-read: former Prince Albert Raiders defenceman Dave Dotan has launched Potential Apparel, a clothing company which says it "will use part of its proceeds to help disadvantaged youth participate in organized sports." (Richmond News)

For P.A. Raiders GM Bruno Campese, the bantam draft is more of a challenge his team's pick isn't in the top 10. (Prince Albert Daily Herald)

Defenceman John Neibrandt, was part of the Kootenay Ice's 2011 championship team, is back in B.C. trying to help the Yorkton Terriers win the inaugural Junior A Western Canada Cup. (Nanaimo Daily News)

OHL

Hey, the London Knights might be born on second base thinking they hit a double, but they can still get to home plate like no one's business. (London Free Press)

Another must-read from Dawn Walton: former Calgary Flames captain Jim Peplinski is advocating that bodychecking be banned for players fewer than 16 years old. One counterpoint from Hockey Canada's Paul Carson: "We’ve got to make the game safer by doing more than taking bodychecking away." (Globe & Mail)

Junior C player Evan Greer had 2 points after he was supposed to have been ejected (Dean Peever, special to Yahoo! Canada)

The Picton Pirates just had a win taken out of their sails.

Playing hockey means learning to live with the fact the referees make mistakes just the players and sometimes that affects the outcome of a game. If you want to debate the difference between a blown call that affects the course of a game and a misinterpretation of the rules that actually leads to do-over, drop by Miss Lily's Cafe in Picton, Ont., right down the rink from where the Junior C Pirates play.

On second thought, that might be a sore point for the next couple days in Picton. In a bizarre twist, the Ontario Hockey Association has ruled that its Schmalz Cup championship series between the Essex 73's and Picton Pirates is now 1-0 for Essex instead of being tied 1-1. Why? Because the referees failed to eject Picton's Evan Greer after he incurred his third stick infraction of the game during the second period. Greer went on to factor into the game's deciding goals.

Bizarre? You bet. But apparently there's a difference between a debatable judgement call and something procedural that is spelled out in the rulebook.

B-B's Etienne Marcoux and 3 other goalies are suspended for Game 5 on Friday (Remi Senechal, The Canadian Press)

Well, better a battle of third-string goaltenders than another battle royale, eh? The QMJHL wasted little time punishing coaches and players for the full-scale fracas between the Baie-Comeau Drakkar and Blainville-Boisbriand Armada after the final buzzer, suspending a dozen players, including all four goaltenders, and both bench bosses, the Drakkar's Éric Veilleux and and Armada's Jean-François Houle.

[Watch: Armada-Drakkar brawl after buzzer]

Long story short, the pivotal Game 5 could turn on which call-up goalie is more comfortable being tossed into the middle of a playoff series, the Armada's 17-year-old Storm Phaneuf or the Drakkar's Simon Lemieux. You know, when they tell a No. 3 goalie in the playoffs to be ready because you just never know, it probably goes in one ear and out the other, but not this time.