SASKATOON, Sask. — Seth Jones hasn't necessarily left observers wanting more, but he wants more from himself.

One should give the Colorado Avalanche some credit by presuming it will base is first overall pick in the June 30 NHL draft on Jones', Nathan MacKinnon's, et al.'s entire body of work, not merely how they performed in the big games. So far at the MasterCard Memorial Cup, though, MacKinnon might have more buzz after scoring four goals in two games, including a hat trick vs. Jones' Winterhawks on Saturday. Jones has had two redoubtable openings. He showed his offensive adroitness by joining the rush to score a goal in Portland's opener. Monday, he ended plus-4 during a 6-3 win over the London Knights, but called himself out for a pair of blown coverages. That was rather candid for an 18-year-old.

"I definitely have better," says Jones, whose Winterhawks had Tuesday off to rev up for an all-WHL showdown vs. the Saskatoon Blades that concludes the tournament round-robin. "Obviously

Patrick Roy has coached the Remparts for 8 seasons (Clement Allard, The Canadian Press)

SASKATOON, Sask. — Patrick Roy's potential departure for The Show was the topic du jour at the MasterCard Memorial Cup, as much as the tournament itself.

After years of regularly being linked to NHL coaching vacancies, the Hall of Famer is expected to leave his post as coach-GM of the Quebec Remparts to be head coach of the Colorado Avalanche, according to a Denver Post report. The Avalanche have the No. 1 pick in the June 30 NHL draft and commensurately, NHL Central Scouting's top three North American prospects, Portland Winterhawks defenceman Seth Jones and Halifax Mooseheads teammates Nathan MacKinnon an Jonathan Drouin, are in the tournament.

[Patrick Roy is the next Colorado Avalanche coach, according to his brother: Report]

Jones, 18, was five years old in 1999-2000 when his father, Roland (Popeye) Jones, was playing for the NBA's Denver Nuggets at the same time that Roy and new Colorado GM Joe Sakic were playing for a team based out of the same arena. Sakic helped introduce young Seth to hockey.

"I've actually heard that the Avs might hire him," Jones said of Roy. "But who knows? I may not go first overall. I may go second, third. With the way MacKinnon and Drouin are playing right now, who knows? It's definitely not a lock for me. I've heard about Roy's coaching style and I'd be happy to play for him."

Exploring the junior hockey world overnight so you don’t have to.

First off, Buzzing The Net’s own Neate Sager on CBC with Rob Pizzo and David Amber (cbc.ca):

WHL

So Seth Jones may not be a lock for the no. 1 overall pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft after all... (blogs.denverpost.com)

...but he sure did enjoy Max Domi’s pass last night. (sportsnet.ca)

Washington Capitals goaltender and former Saskatoon Blade Braden Holtby sports new hairstyle, haggard look, at the 2013 Mastercard Memorial Cup. Also, he drove for three days straight to get there. (russianmachineneverbreaks.com)

Alexis Normand did apologize for her singing snafu earlier in the 2013 Memorial Cup. Sonia Reid Noble, meanwhile, nailed The Star-Spangled Banner on Tuesday. (upi.com)

Portland’s Nicolas Petan has been flying under the radar for the Winterhawks this postseason. (Saskatoon StarPhoenix)

OHL

London’s Bo Horvat may hold the interest of the Edmonton Oilers at this year’s upcoming Entry Draft. Also hidden inside: Portland’s Petan might be the next Pavel Datsyuk? (blogs.edmontonjournal.com)

Horvat and his teammate Domi discuss what it’s like to play on the same line, and how that might affect where they are drafted. (tsn.ca)

Taylor Leier had 3 points in his hometown on Monday (Steve Hiscock photo)

SASKATOON, Sask. — Taylor Leier is not necessarily a spotlight guy, but he should not have to look far for advice on how to handle it.

The Portland Winterhawks wing, who was named the game's first star in his hometown during the 6-3 win over the London Knights on Monday, can just turn to his brother from another mother, fellow forward Brendan Leipsic. Leipsic went from 30-point scorer to tying for the WHL scoring title with 120 this season. Leier is bound to be highly sought out over the two days, since he's the lone player from Saskatoon on the Winterhawks ahead of their MasterCard Memorial Cup showdown on Wednesday against the host Blades.

As both tell it, seeing — and hearing — the two Prairie boys rib each other is high entertainment among the Winterhawks. The two forwards, roommates of the ice, have uncannily similar personalities.

"He's a loud kid and I'm a pretty loud guy too," says Leier, who had one goal, two assists and was plus-4 on Monday. "We get in a lot of fights, we're exactly like brothers. When he gets loud, I give it to him. I have to bring him down sometimes. The boys love it."

Portland Winterhawks' Oliver Bjorkstrand celebrates after scoring on Monday (Steve Hiscock photo)

SASKATOON, Sask. — The Portland Winterhawks have a win at the MasterCard Memorial Cup, Dale Hunter has his first career loss, and the tournament has been thrown into a hodgepodge of tiebreaker scenarios.

Everything is happening!

The Winterhawks, led by Ty Rattie (2G-1A) in their 6-3 win over London, once again parted with a multi-goal second-period lead. However, they pounced when Knights centre Ryan Rupert got a closing hand on puck penalty 5:12 into the third period for putting his hand over the disc, which is not an infraction under OHL rules. Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Derrick Pouliot scored on the ensuing power play, then Chase De Leo tallied 23 seconds later to open a two-goal spread.

It's the second year in a row there has been a four-way tie in the standings at 1-1 after four games. Portland could go to the final if London beats Halifax Tuesday and the Winterhawks beat Saskatoon, although Portland

"We kind of let off the gas a bit which we've done a couple times this post-season," Winterhawks star defenceman Seth Jones said. "I'm not sure what's happening there... we may be getting a little lackadaisacal. Our D-zone play is not working that well right now. I think when we get up and we keep wanting to work on offence."

The Rupert penalty was a turning point for London.

"We took a penalty and they scored on it," Hunter said. "The next shift our D ran into the referee and caused a goal. That stopped the momentum."

As a sidebar, Portland coach-GM Mike Johnston, suspended all season under the WHL sanctions against the franchise, was in the stands watching his team play

"We've missed him all year, he hasn't been able to come to the games or talk to us or anything," Pouliot said. "This was for him as it much as it was for us."

On with the post-game questions:

Domi and Horvat combined for the sweetest goal of the tournament to fuel London's rally (OHL Images)

For the second consecutive game, the Portland Winterhawks blew a multi-goal lead. Unlike their first game of the tournament when they capitulated in the third against the Halifax Mooseheads, the Winterhawks responded with two quick goals of their own, from Derick Pouliot and Chase De Leo, to regain the lead, and the Hawks would eventually hold on for a 6-3 victory.

The Winterhawks still don't look like the team that ate up the WHL's Western Conference all season long, but they put together an excellent effort against the Knights. They took an early 3-0 lead on goals from Taylor Leier, Oliver Bjorkstrand and Ty Rattie before the Knights struck with two in the second and one early in the third.

From there, the Winterhawks regrouped, took back the momentum and chased goaltender Anthony Stolarz, bringing their record to 1-1 and guaranteeing the tournament a tiebreaking game to take place between the losing team in Wednesday and Thursday's games.

No. 1 Star - Max Domi, London Knights

Normally the No. 1 Star comes from the winning side, but Max Domi was all over the ice tonight. He may even deserve the top honours based on this one assist:

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

SASKATOON, Sask. — It's not harvest season, but you might not see a sweeter apple than the one Max Domi created for a London Knights goal on Monday at the MasterCard Memorial Cup.

In the second period against the Portland Winterhawks, two of the Knights' projected NHL first-round choice, Domi and Bo Horvat, scored the nicest goal of the tournament to date. Needing to get the puck by Winterhawks defenceman Troy Rutkowski's stick to a charging Horvat, Domi pulled the disk back and then threaded it over to his teammate, who flicked it out of the air for the beauty goal.

"You really didn't think he would pull that off, but you expect the unexpected with him," Horvat said. "I just had to get my stick on it. "That's the first time I've seen him do that, even in practice. He's a special player. For him to make him that play at that speed is just incredible."

Horvat even popped the water bottle behind Winterhawks goalie Mac Carruth, who did get the last laugh for the night since Portland won 6-3.

"I would have liked to have made the save, obviously," Carruth said. "Guess I'm going to see myself on TSN or Sportsnet tonight, that's going to be fun. Me and our captain Rutter [Ottawa Senators free-agent signing Troy Rutkowski] both got fooled by it. It wasn't a normal pass, he had to saucer it over Rutter's stick. You just have to tip your cap."

Jonathan Drouin challenges Saskatoon goalie Andrey Makarov (Steve Hiscock photo)

SASKATOON, Sask. — Isn't a pity / isn't it a shame / no one ever told the boys / the Memorial Cup / is an unfair game.

The Saskatoon Blades' win over the Halifax Mooseheads breathed new energy into the MasterCard Memorial Cup, creating the possibility of a second tournament in a row where there could be a four-way tie for first two-thirds of the way through the round-robin. It's great for galvanizing interest of the tournament; there was a bounce in Saskatoon's step on Monday. Yet at the same time, one is under no obligation, other than for the sake of going along to get along, to believe one win confers legitimacy. Buster Douglas kayoed Mike Tyson, too.

It's only relevant, though, when it comes to how the outcome of the event is regarded. For coaches and players, this is the business they have chosen.

"That's something we don't talk about inside," Mooseheads coach Dominique Ducharme said on Monday, after his team lost in regulation time for only the eighth time in 87 games and the world, remarkably, stayed on its axis. "That's for media or fans who talk about who should have won or who's winning, who should be going first or who should be going where in the draft. That's something we don't control. That's the way we've been thinking all year. We lost the game, it was against Saskatoon, and we're looking for a way to improve on the two games we've played.

"As far as I can see, we're still here," Duchame added. "I think maybe Saskatoon, because they lost in the first round [of the WHL playoffs], people make it a big deal. They were out for 51 days or whatever. I don't know what happened. I wasn't here when they lost in the playoffs. They prepared. They had 51 days to get ready. They're here, they're part of the tournament and they can play. If we play them again, it's going to be another battle."

Point being, though, how one evaluates the result should take into account the built-in advantages that come to the hosts. Don't take that as saying the Blades do not belong, but the truth is probably somewhere in the middle.