Draft day in the WHL, two championship series begin: Thursday’s coast-to-coast

Combing all corners of the country and the blogosphere for your junior hockey headlines ... please come by at 12 noon ET/9 a.m. PT for the Chatravaganza.

WHL

Score two for undrafted players: Western league MVP Brendan Shinnimin was never drafted by the NHL, just like the OHL's most outstanding player, Michael Houser. (Sportsnet)

Top bantam draft prospect Mathew Barzal was the only player who visited the Seattle Thunderbirds' facilities before today's draft, reports Jim Riley. The 'Birds, of course, choose No. 1 today. (Seattle Times, Vancouver Province, Everett Herald)

How Portland Winterhawks stars Sven Bärtschi and Ty Rattie developed chemistry. (Portland Tribune)

With the final opening tonight, Daniel Nugent-Bowman likes the Portland Winterhawks in seven games. (Saskatoon StarPhoenix)

Edmonton Oil Kings GM Bob Green built a team that's in position to win the Ed Chynoweth Cup after having never won a single playoff game in its first four seasons. Easy choice for WHL executive of the year, eh. (Edmonton Journal)

Oil Kings veteran Rhett Rachinski is seeking a pro contract somewhere. Anywhere. (Edmonton Journal)

Capsule characterizations of every Oil Kings player, courtesy Dylan Bumbarger. (Oregon Live)

Alan Caldwell offers up a Portland-Edmonton prediction. (Small Thoughts At Large)

Ottawa Senators prospect Mark Stone copped the WHL's most sportsmanlike player honours. (Brandon Sun, paywall)

The Regina Pats and the word stability in the same sentence. That's a welcome sign to many. (Regina Leader-Post)

OHL

More on Toronto Maple Leafs first-round pick Tyler Biggs leaving college, opening the door to him joining the Oshawa Generals. This could be akin to the Jerry D'Amigo situation two seasons ago. D'Amigo went to the AHL before the Leafs assigned him to junior. (Toronto Star, USCHO)

Agree to disagree on the "underdog IceDogs" headline, but Niagara coach-GM Marty Williamson has done a job steering the St. Catharines sextet into the final. (Toronto Star)

The Niagara-London showdown might come down to who controls the neutral zone more often than not. (St. Catharines Standard)

Do not be that guy telling the London Knights they will still have a good shot at winning the OHL title in 2013 and '14. (London Free Press)

It's been six long years without a championship series in London. (London Free Press)

Peterborough Petes coach Mike Pelini and Saginaw Spirit bench boss Greg Gilbert are helping coach Canada's hockey team for the 2013 Maccabi Games. (Peterborough Examiner)

QMJHL

New Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin talks about where Patrick Roy might fit in the Habs' plans. No one ever really seriously believed the Habs would hire a general manager out of junior, did they? (Sportsnet)

Ney, didn't the Saint John Sea Dogs play without captain Jonathan Huberdeau for nearly half the season? (CTV Atlantic, Station Nation)

Rimouski defenceman Casey Babineau is one of three Maritimers on the Océanic trying to keep the President's Cup from heading east again. (Truro Daily News)

Shawinigan Cataractes GM Martin Mondou is hopeful of getting a job in the Montreal Canadiens organization. (Le Nouvelliste)

Halifax Mooseheads forward Darcy Ashley's season is done, but there's still work to do — like helping haul in lobster in his native P.E.I. (Charlottetown Guardian)

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Contact him at neatesager@yahoo.ca and follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.