Hard road to NHL job for Horvat: the coast-to-coast

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

WHL

Count Saskatoon Blades managing partner Colin Priestner as an analtyics acolyte: "You don't have to be a believer in advanced stats to see that a player is 43 per cent worse than his linemates at getting the puck out of the zone." (Saskatoon StarPhoenix)

Minnesota Wild draftee Reid Duke's summation on ending his holdout in Lethbridge: "It was a long summer, but finally we came to a decision that it was the best thing for me to come and play with my team." (Lethbridge Herald)

Breakout candidate alert: centre Thomas Foster in Vancouver. Maybe if he starts going by Tommy full-time. (Vancouver Province)

Is a move to the blueline in the offing for Regina's Carter Hansen? (Regina Leader-Post)

All-name team candidate Jackson Whistle has the line on being Kelowna's No. 1 goalie. (Kelowna Capital News)

OHL

Not sure why Connor McDavid needs a preseason, but he put up five points for Erie on Thursday. (Erie Times-News)

Here's a look at what London's Bo Horvat is up against as he vies for a spot on the Vancouver Canucks. (Nucks Misconduct)

Former London Knights star Olli Maatta had time to adapt to North American hockey back in 2011-12. The Knights' new Nordic defenceman, San Jose Sharks draftee Julius Bergman, is getting thrown in off the deep end. (London Free Press)

That's the pits for Canisius, man: physical 19-year-old defenceman Zack Pittman joined the Ottawa 67's on Thursday after deciding not to play for Canisius College. (SB Nation)

Will Sault Ste. Marie's David Miller take advantage of his late September birthday and play his way on to the NHL draft radar? (Sault Star)

Swiss sophomore Pius Suter aims to build from his strong playoff run and have a breakout for the Guelph Storm. (Guelph Mercury)

Wayne Smith, who was Boston's director of amateur scouting when it won the Stanley Cup in 2011, is the new Windsor Spitfires head scout. (Windsor Star)

The Sarnia Sting have nine defencemen left vying for seven roster spots heading into a preseason set with London. (Sarnia Observer, Blackburn News)

QMJHL

New York Rangers prospect Ryan Graves is targeting a Nov. 1 return date from shoulder surgery. (Le Soleil)

Why Charlottetown's Daniel Sprong is the league's best bet for the NHL draft. (Halifax Chronicle-Herald)

How will Saint John sophomore Nathan Noel bounce back from being left off Canada's summer under-18 team? (St. John's Telegram)

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.