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Coaching shuffle in Kamloops, elder Matteau won’t sail with Armada: Wednesday’s coast-to-coast

Neate Sager

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

WHL

Vancouver Giants owner Ron Toigo might use first overall pick Tyler Benson as a wedge to loosen limits on how many games a 15-year-old call-up can play: "With the demands of the world juniors and the world under-17 challenge and these tournaments that go on at Christmastime, a lot of teams are running two or three players under the limit. So we think we should be able to bring guys up for more than just five games." (Vancouver Sun)

Coaching shuffle in Kamloops: Dave Hunchak moves one spot over to head coach, with Guy Charron staying on as a consultant.

Banished Portland Winterhawks coach-GM Mike Johnston reckons that if right-hand man Travis Green leaves after the Memorial Cup, it would be for a pro job. (Oregon Live)

Host Saskatoon's trump card is that goalie Andrey Makarov has sterling (silver, and a bronze) experience in short tournaments from his two world juniors with Russia. (Saskatoon StarPhoenix)

Seventy-two-year-old Regina Pats owner Russ Parker insists he's not selling the long-struggling club in the wake of son Brent Parker's resignation as team president. (Regina Leader-Post)

From the younger Parker's emotional goodbye: "When I stepped down as GM (in 2010) and went to president that wasn't enough for some people because I'm still around." (Regina Leader-Post)

Adding 18-year-old defenceman Clint Filabrandt shores up the Kootenay Ice's back-end depth. (Between The Lines)

OHL

Gene Pereira held nohing back about the Barrie Colts not winning the 2014 MasterCard Memorial Cup bid. (Barrie Examiner, Metro London)

Knights management got the news ahead of Game 7 on Monday even though the OHL had put off the announcement until after the final. But players were apparently kept out of the loop. (London Free Press)

Likely NHL first-rounder Bo Horvat left an indelible mark on the OHL's second season. (London Free Press)

Exceptional player Sean Day has signed on with the Mississauga Steelheads. (Mississauga News)

The Knights' win makes London a veritable "City of Champions" despite "sky-high unemployment, an uncertain future, ongoing political turmoil." Plus university football's Western Mustangs have not won a Vanier Cup this century. (London Free Press)

How did a Floridian like incoming Kitchener Rangers netminder Max Greenfield get started playing goal? And when will the OHL have a buzz-cut Alabaman? (Waterloo Record)

QMJHL

In case Stéphane Matteau going scorched earth recently was not enough of a tip-off, the father of New Jersey Devils first-rounder Stefan Matteau will definitely not stay on with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada coaching staff. (La Presse)

Halifax Mooseheads co-captain Stefan Fournier is to the QMJHL what The Kissing Bandit, D-lineman Adriano Belli, is to the CFL. (Metro Halifax)

Meantime, no one is kissing off Halifax's chance at the Big Dance, which is a change from how it used to be for teams from the Q. (Halifax Chronicle-Herald, Saskatoon StarPhoenix)

Remember when The Office — don't act like you're hip and stopped watching after Season 3 — teased by having an endless line of guest stars audition to replace Steve Carell? I like to imagine Shawinigan's coaching searching unfolding much the same way. (Le Nouvelliste)

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet. Please address any questions, comments or concerns to btnblog@yahoo.ca.