Domi is ranked 19th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting (OHL Images)

SASKATOON, Sask. — The next person to say Max Domi does not play like his father, celebrated former NHL tough guy Tie Domi, will get two minutes for being trite.

The younger Domi is a point-producing playmaker who is listed at 5-foot-10, but he can't be easily classified as a finesse player. That came across loud and clear in the third period on Friday at the MasterCard Memorial Cup, when Domi lined up Saskatoon Blades forward Shane McColgan and dropped him with a solid shoulder-to-sternum bodycheck.

"There was no real momentum for either team at that point in the game," Domi said following the Knights' 3-2 victory over the Blades. "Whatever it takes, a hit, a scoring chance, a big save. I was in the right place at the right time and was able to get the boys going."

London's Seth Griffith and Saskatoon's Lukas Sutter scuffle on Friday (Liam Richards, The Canadian Press)

SASKATOON, Sask. — May 17 is way too late to count moral victories.

Friday stacked up as an good chance for the Saskatoon Blades, whose place at the MasterCard Memorial Cup has been pooh-poohed since they were swept in the first of the WHL playoffs, to steal a win. The London Knights were not exactly recharged after winning a dramatic Game 7 in the OHL final three days earlier and two time zones away. For two periods, the Blades, thanks to a pair of goals from Josh Nicholls and some superlative 'tending by Andrey Makarov (30 saves on the night, including seven during a 5-on-3 penalty kill), stayed with the Knights, despite being on their way to being outchanced 22-11 and 14-8 at even strength.

"Some people really wrote us off coming into this, but we showed that we're a good contender," defenceman Duncan Siemens said. "We had a hell of a performance for not playing for 51 days and playing a league champion and giving them a good game. If we eliminate some mistakes and that game goes to overtime or we win.

Was it enough of an indicator that the Blades, who face the Halifax Mooseheads on Sunday and Portland Winterhawks on Wednesday, can avoid a three-and-out? On with the post-game questions:

Josh Nicholls' first-period shot is stopped by Anthony Stolarz's dropped stick (Liam Richards, The Canadian Press)Friday Night's 2013 MasterCard Memorial Cup opener between the Saskatoon Blades and the London Knights certainly looked like a contest between the Ontario Hockey League's "Evil Empire" and a team that hadn't played a game in 51 days. Not to say that the Knights ran up the score early on, because about the only player "ring rust" hadn't affected was Saskatoon goaltender Andrey Makarov, who held the Blades in it despite the team getting just four of the game's first 21 chances before the host team settled in.

Josh Nicholls opened the scoring midway through the first on a goal that went against the general flow of play, but London struck twice before the end of the period. THey got goals from Brett Welychka and Seth Griffith before the period was out. Despite Nicholls scoring again in the second, Nikita Zadorov tapped in a powerplay goal early in the third period that stood up as the winner as London shut the door in the third period. That score held as the Knights took the 3-2 final in the opener.

No. 1 Star - Seth Griffith, London Knights

The most noticeable player in the debut game was likely the Boston Bruins' prospect Seth Griffith. He was all over the ice in the first two periods, scoring a goal late in the first period off of a Bo Horvat-created turnover and set up a couple of nice chances.

Griffith also assisted on Nikita Zadorov's winning goal. Zadorov had all kinds of room in front of the net, but it was the work of Griffith and the remainder of the London powerplay keeping the puck to one side so Saskatoon gradually shifted over... leaving Zadorov open a couple of times on Makarov's right side. The second time was the charm.

SASKATOON, Sask. — Time to drop the puck and play for coast-to-coast bragging rights, as the MasterCard Memorial Cup begins with the two-time Ontario Hockey League champion London Knights taking on the host Saskatoon Blades.

Please join the Buzzing The Net crew of Cam Charron, Terry Doyle, Kelly Friesen, Steve McAllister Sunaya Sapurji, Neate Sager, Scott Sepich and a cast of many at 8 p.m. Eastern/6 p.m. Saskatchewan time when the action gets underway. Ideally, it will be a rousing start to a memorable 10 days of major hockey.

Knights preview | Blades preview

Please remember that all Chatravaganzas are BYOP — bring your own peanuts.

Seth Jones and Nathan MacKinnon shake hands following the CHL Top Prospects Game (Andrew Vaughan, The Canadian Press)

SASKATOON — Halifax Mooseheads star Nathan MacKinnon has a message for Jay-Z: Holla at ya boy.

The rap impresario’s entertainment company, Roc Nation, has recently ventured in the sporting world and joined with Creative Artists Agency (CAA) – the agency that represents both MacKinnon and fellow top prospect Seth Jones of the Portland Winterhawks.

“There’s a partnership between them,” said Jones. “I’ve obviously talked to my agent Pat (Brisson) about that and we’ll see where it goes from there.”

Jay-Z and Roc Nation are reportedly very interested to work with Jones, who is ranked No. 1 by the NHL’s central scouting service. Jones, the son of former NBA player Popeye Jones, could become the first African-American player selected with the NHL’s top pick. Popeye Jones is the assistant coach of the Brooklyn Nets, the team that until recently had Jay-Z as part owner.

The younger Jones could be the kind of cross-over star the NHL has been dreaming of, and who better to market him to the

The Saskatoon Blades are hosting the 2013 MasterCard Memorial Cup (Marissa Baecker, Getty Images)SASKATOON BLADES (host)

No playoff wins, no problem for the Blades’ road to the 2013 MasterCard Memorial Cup. That’s the beauty about being the host team.

Saskatoon’s season has been full of highs and lows, but mostly lows. After a poor 3-7 start to the year, the Blades went on an 18-game win streak in the latter half of the season. This incredible run, however, was later deemed “a tease” by Blades fan. With them hoping to see their team go on a playoff run and make it past the second round for the first time in 18 years, Saskatoon took a face plant in the second season. The seventh-place Medicine Hat Tigers quickly swept them in the first round.

Blades fans practically parked a U-Haul on GM-head coach Lorne Molleken’s driveway. But team owner Jack Brodsky didn’t make a radical move after the playoffs. He stuck by his architect through a very rough patch in his franchise’s history.

Saskatoon can’t be written off in the Memorial Cup, though. They not only have had more time to rest and regroup for the tournament than their opponents, but they also will have the crowd behind them. The stats show these two factors can be huge beneficiaries as 70 per cent of the host teams have made it to the final.

Their season so far, expressed through the majesty of '80s rock anthems

Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers, "The Waiting." The Blades have not played a game since March, so their fans have to take it on faith that they will be competitive in the tournament.

Seth Jones (left), Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin will be in the spotlight for Saturday's Halifax-Portland game (Liam Richards, The Canadian Press)

It's only 10 days long, yet the MasterCard Memorial Cup often seems like a hockey marathon. Over the course of two weekends, young hockey players, some destined for bigger and brighter glories in the NHL, others for whom the experience will represent the zenith of their careers, lay in on the line to win what is sometimes describes as the toughest trophy to capture in all of North American sports.

This time around, some of the storylines are strong enough to sell the event on their own. Can Portland's Seth Jones continue work on his unofficial Grand Slam of a league championship, a world junior gold medal, leading his team to the Memorial Cup and then going No. 1 in the NHL draft? Will the Winterhawks go from being resented Western Hockey League-wide to being a league darling if they bring the Dub its first victory in a half-decade? How will the unprecedented crop of NHL draft prospects fare in the harsh spotlight?

Buzzing The Net will host a livechat of each game, beginning with Friday's London Knights-Saskatoon Blades opener (8 p.m. ET/6 p.m. MT, Sportsnet). Here's a survey of what to keep an eye peeled for over the next 10 days.

Jonathan Drouin (27) was QMJHL playoff MVP for Halifax (Andrew Vaughan, The Canadian Press)

HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS (QMJHL champion)

Forgive any fan of the Mastercard Memorial Cup if they’ve seen this picture before: a QMJHL team finishing no.1 overall in Canada with 58 wins and a top-3 prospect in the world for the upcoming entry draft.

2011 Saint John Sea Dogs, meet the 2013 Halifax Mooseheads.

The Sea Dogs that season steamrolled over their competition, winning their first of two President’s Cups and winning the 2011 Memorial Cup in Mississauga, Ont. The Mooseheads would love to repeat that ending to their storybook season.

Saint John that season had several great prospects that season, led by current Florida Panther Jonathan Huberdeau, Minnesota prospect Zach Phillips, Detroit prospect Tomas Jurco and Montreal Canadiens prospect Nathan Beaulieu. Halifax this year has been led by superstars Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin, both expected to go top-3 at this year’s NHL Entry Draft, along with goaltender Zachary Fucale.

This will be the first time the Mooseheads enter the Memorial Cup as QMJHL champions, though they did host the tournament in 2000.

Their season so far, expressed through the majesty of '80s rock anthems

INXS, “New Sensation. Three things: the iconic Michael Hutchence’s fifth verse of “You're only human / What can you do / It'll soon be over / Don't let your pain take over you” describes the way the Mooseheads dominated their QMJHL competition; this is the first time since 2010 the QMJHL weren’t represented by the Saint John Sea Dogs; and draft-eligible prospects MacKinnon, Drouin and Fucale are the newest big things for NHL scouts in the Atlantic Provinces.