Joey HishonThe prospect of Joey Hishon playing as an overage was a fun Twitterverse story for a few hours — and that appears to be where it should end.

When the Owen Sound Attack relinquished Hishon's rights on Tuesday in order to get down to the three-overage limit, speculation began that a contender would take a flier on the Colorado Avalanche first-round pick by picking up his rights. Tuesday, the league-leading London Knights, who had an acrimonious playoff series against the Attack last spring where Hishon was worked over by Knights checkers on a nightly basis, did just that, but it appears it was in vain since the Avalanche have ruled out Hishon returning to junior. He is has not recovered from the concussion he suffered nearly eight months ago after being drilled with a head shot by then-Kootenay Ice defenceman Brayden McNabb during the MasterCard Memorial Cup.

However, Attack GM Dale DeGray wasn't about to let that roll off, saying he was disappointed the Knights claimed Hishon. Fortunately for all us gawkers, the teams have a home-and-home series on Jan. 20-21 weekend, so that ought to be fun.

From Manny Paiva of 560 CFOS in Owen Sound:

"I was pretty disappointed that that happened. It was disappointing because the way I looked at it is, in my tenure so far, Joey Hishon has been a huge part of what we've been able to bring to Owen Sound [winning the J. Ross Robertson Cup last season]. I could have certainly tried to trade Joey for the sake of trying to gain a small piece and seeing what I could pick up. But I'll be straight. I didn't put him on waivers. I waited till the last minute to put him on waivers, expecting everybody to fulfill their overage obligations ... but I still thought, my objective was to keep Joey Hishon as an Owen Sound Attack player. I don't want to see him on another team's roster. I'm pretty ticked off.

" ... I had talked to Joey and to Colorado leading up to this in case I needed to prepare our lineup for the opportunity of Joey coming back. I was told that he hadn't been cleared to play and there was no difference in the doctor's assessment. Joey's lightly skating and he's not even participating in full practices. He's not even close ... from what I was told, there was no way he was coming back and from talking to Joey [Tuesday], he has no intention of coming back to junior." (560 CFOS)

Kevin SundherThis Western Hockey League trade deadline was full of its share of surprises. Expected buyers turned out to be sellers and sellers turned out to be buyers.

There wasn't a huge 8-for-1 trade like there was last year with the Saskatoon Blades acquiring Brayden Schenn and the Kootenay Ice landing Cody Eakin, but there were still a handful of impact players told to pack their bags.

Now that major junior hockey players out West can finally relax and get some sleep, here's a rundown of the winners, losers, and surprises of the Dub's trade deadline.

Winners

Moose Jaw Warriors — It's no secret New York Rangers prospect Dylan McIlrath and Florida Panthers prospect Quinton Howden will move on to the pros next year. These two leaders leaving next year make it now or never for the Warriors. So the time was right for them to bulk up and take a run at the MasterCard Memorial Cup.

The Warriors added two team captains. They first acquired Lethbridge Hurricanes centre Cam Braes and then landed Vancouver Giants winger James Henry. These two forwards have boosted the offensive depth and talent for a team which sometimes has to squeak out close games. These additions also add some valuable veteran experience. The Warriors have now separated themselves with the Edmonton Oil Kings as the clear-cut top two teams in the Eastern Conference.

ty_rimmerDeadline deals — damn, the Regina Pats got Martin Marincin? — have changed the landscape in all three CHL leagues. But a familiar name tops the first Dynamic Dozen of the new year, with the Tri-City Americans sitting No. 1.

The Ams are riding a 13-game win streak, so their placing is no surprise. The big takeaway this week is the rivalries taking form as the real regular season commences. Tri-City should expect greater heat from the Portland Winterhawks and their high-octane offence, while the Moose Jaw Warriors have fortified a veteran lineup this week to challenge the upstart Edmonton Oil Kings in the other half of the WHL. The Ontario league is shaping up as a Plymouth-London two-team race. Down east, most eyes this week should be on the Shawinigan Cataractes-Saint John Sea Dogs tilt on Thursday — a Cats-Dogs matchup that includes star defenceman Brandon Gormley, just in a different uniform.

1. Tri-City Americans, WHL (.574 RPI, +1) — Their 13-game roll goes on the line Wednesday against a streaking Kamloops team. It would almost be nice if Tri-City could drop a game or two, because otherwise you can just yadda-yadda through any discussion of the Western league leaders. Ty Rimmer tops the Dub in goals-against average and save percentage, yadda-yadda-yadda, Zach Yuen's first in plus/minus, and so on.

2. Quebec Remparts, QMJHL (.572, -1) — How long are they going to be this high after Patrick Roy elected to stick with the youth movement? Their Telus East Division rivals in Shawinigan, Victoriaville and even Chicoutimi added tested talent before the deadline. The Remparts will likely be better off in the long run for not touching their young nucleus, but that point might come some time after this spring.

Greg_McKegg_(21)Fortune favours the bold — or at least Ontario Hockey League general managers hope so. Unlike the relatively quite trade deadline of a year ago when many teams opted to hold since the Mississauga-St. Michael's Majors seemed to have an iron grip on the league, 50 players changed uniforms within the past 10 days.

Now that it is safe to crawl out from under the big pile of coats you've been hiding under since last week, here's a rundown of the winners, losers and surprises from the deadline.

Winners

London Knights — Isn't it odd how the rich always get richer without having to pay too much? Coach-GM Mark Hunter  got two 19-year-olds who were captains of their previous teams and thus presumably hungry to win, adding centre Austin Watson and winger Greg McKegg, a Toronto Maple Leafs prospect.

The Knights also managed to get a capable backup goalie in the process by adding former Canadian under-18 team goalie Tyson Teichmann in the McKegg deal with Erie. Now Michael Houser might finally get a day off.

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

WHL

Nashville Predators-drafted centre Cam Reid has left St. Cloud State to join the Portland Winterhawks, who reportedly "promis[ed] him a chance to start at center" between stars Sven Bärtschi and Ty Rattie.  (Minneapolis Star-Tribune, St. Cloud Times)

Saskatoon Blades star goalie Andrey Makarov is expected to miss at least a week due to a concussion. (Calgary Herald)

The Kelowna Rockets are entertaining offers for star winger Brett Bulmer on deadline day. (Dub Nation)

A first and a second round pick for an overage player? Too rich for many general managers' blood. (Small Thoughts at Large)

The Tri-City Americans got a draft pick back by sending young defender Riley Guenther to (Tri-City Herald)

OHL

Summarizing the last few hours before the trade deadline. (Loose Pucks)

The newest London Knight, U.S. world junior forward Austin Watson, is no stranger to a playoff atmosphere at John Labatt

Kevin SundherTypically, a top scorer such Kevin Sundher does not land on a team holding down the final spot in its conference.

However, the WHL's Eastern Conference is fairly wide open this season, so Brandon Wheat Kings GM and owner Kelly McCrimmon, still flush with younger players and bantam draft selections from the Brayden Schenn trade last season, went out and added Sundher from the Victoria Royals late Monday night. It's a unique move not only due to the Wheat Kings' spot in the standings but for the fact the team is already third in the WHL in goal scoring, while having allowed more goals (153) than all but one other team that holds a playoff spot. Why add the seventh-leading scorer in the league instead of more defence?

As McCrimmon explained it:

"We've talked about the fact that we haven't been at the level that we've needed to be at for the last six weeks ... as we move into the stretch drive and into the playoffs, we think adding Kevin Sundher to our team is really going to make a difference.

" ... When you're looking to improve your team, adding good players at any position to your team is going to make a difference. One of the things we talked about all year is the importance of the centre-ice position. What this does is gives us someone who complents our talented group and will strengthen all four lines." (Luber's Lounge)

Sundher, a Buffalo Sabres prospect, has 22 goals and 64 points in 40 games this season, which shows what a potent scorer and playmaker he's matured into during his final junior season.

Jamie OleksiakNo team has ever suited up five members of Team Canada at once, so that should provide some idea of what's on the line for the Niagara IceDogs. Coach-GM Marty Williamson, whose team has not run away with the Ontario Hockey League's Eastern Conference as much as everyone giddily anticipated in the preseason, made an 8-for-1 deal Monday for hulking 6-foot-7 defenceman Jamie Oleksiak.

The IceDogs won't lose anything tangible if adding Oleksiak to a core that includes world junior players Mark Visentin, Dougie Hamilton, Freddie Hamilton and Ryan Strome doesn't pay off with winning the OHL championship. Still, this is a team that has It's played good, not great hockey with a 23-13-0-3 record, good for third in the conference, behind their pace from last season when their nucleus was younger. If they can't dominate when one-quarter of the lineup has worn the Maple Leaf, well ... anyway, here are the details on the trade:

The IceDogs sent Frank Schumacher, along with the rights to [goalie] Alex Sakellaropoulos and [University of Michigan commit] Cristoval Nieves, and Oshawa and Niagara's third-round draft picks in 2012, Barrie's second-round pick, Windsor's eighth-round pick in 2013 and Sarnia's second pick in 2015 for Oleksiak.

In addition Saginaw receives a sixth-round pick in 2014 if Oleksiak plays his overage season. (St. Catharines Standard)

Cam BraesWith less than 24 hours remaining until the Western Hockey League's trade deadline, fans and GMs around the league have been waiting for the first big domino to fall.

A deal has just gone down between Moose Jaw and Lethbridge, sending the Hurricanes' overage top scorer, Cam Braes, to the Warriors for a first-round pick in 2012 and a second-round pick next year.

With 24 goals and 45 points this season, Braes bring some offensive heft to a team that lacks a big-time scorer beyond Quinton Howden. But two high draft picks to get a 20-year-old for 30 games plus a playoff run is a lot to shell out.

Moose Jaw also figured in another deal today, sending defenceman Tyler Vanscourt to Vancouver for a fifth-round pick. Speculation around the league is that this move may be a precursor to the Warriors bringing in Martin Marincin from Prince George.

Other than Braes leaving last-place Lethbridge for second-place Moose Jaw, nothing else major has happened as of yet, despite rumours flying that stars like Jordan Weal, Calvin Pickard, Ryan Murray, Kevin Sundher, Brett Bulmer and even Emerson Etem might be available.

Last season, Portland dealt for Craig Cunningham nearly two weeks before the deadline, paving the way for trades that sent Cody Eakin to Kootenay and Brayden Schenn to Saskatoon.

The big moves paid off last year for Kootenay and Portland, which met in the WHL final.