Hamilton, Strome under close watch in Niagara: Tuesday’s coast-to-coast

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

WHL

Todd Millar, as Hockey Calgary president, succeeded in enacting a bodychecking ban in peewee leagues. Now he is no longer Hockey Calgary president after using the word "morons" to describe people who were against it. (Globe & Mail)

Several players are glad the Dub doesn't have a fight threshold like the league to east of it, although the Calgary Hitmen's Jaynen Rissling notes, "There were guys who had over 20 fights last year. Maybe that's a little too many." The WHL is trying to limit staged fights, of course. (Calgary Sun)

However, the Kamloops Blazers had a successful season last year with no player fighting more than nine times. Quoth assistant coach Ed Patterson: "It should be team toughness that counts, not one guy doing it for the whole team." (Kamloops This Week)

Why is Portland's 17-year-old Nic Petan off to such a strong start? He bulked up over the summer and switched his jersey to the No. 19 that former world junior forward Ryan Johansen wore for the Winterhawks. (Portland Tribune)

Moose Jaw Warriors forward Justin Kirsch will miss the next four games for a check from behind last weekend. (Moose Jaw Times-Herald)

Winger Matt Bellerive, caught in a numbers game in Vancouver, is now with the Red Deer Rebels. (Vancouver Sun)

With 14 newcomers, it's going to take time for the Regina Pats to be a cohesive team. (Regina Leader-Post)

OHL

The Niagara IceDogs' first-round NHL picks Dougie Hamilton and Ryan Strome are under extra scrutiny from their big-league organizations. IceDogs coach-GM Marty Williamson: "Those guys have got to realize that scouts don't have a whole lot to do right now, so they are being watched constantly." (St. Catharines Standard)

Unfortunate to read this: Windsor Spitfires 19-year-old forward Stephen Alonge, who had shoulder surgery in April, is facing having another procedure which could end his junior tenure. (Windsor Star)

More on this in a bit, but there were far fewer fights on the league's opening weekend compared to last season. (Metro London)

Bill Montague spreads plenty of blame to commissioner David Branch and the Windsor Spitfires for an apparent lack of transparency over the Spits' recruiting violations. (Sault Star)

A curious case: forward Nathan Mater left the Sarnia Sting to play Junior B and take an engineering course. (Sarnia Observer)

Peterborough's Francis Ménard is carrying the banner for the league's dozen Franco-Ontarian players. (Le Droit)

QMJHL

Is this a year of parity in the Q? (Le Nouvelliste)

A rebuilding year is ahead for the Victoriaville Tigres. (Le Quotidien)

Danny Dupont had a soft landing after being part of the post-Memorial Cup mass exodus in Shawinigan, ending up as an assistant coach with an up-and-coming Rimouski Océanic club. (Le Nouvelliste)

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