Mixed feelings about NHL lockout’s impact; Monday’s coast-to-coast

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

WHL

Kelowna Rockets overage forward J.T. Barnett has 37,000 Twitter followers. That's some 34,000 more than his team. How does he do it? (Kelowna Daily Courier, Regan's Rant)

Vancouver Giants owner Ron Toigo expects attendance to increase during the Canucks' absence, even while allowing the NHL lockout "could be a bit of a negative if people don't want to see any level of hockey." (News 1130, Metro Vancouver, Victoria Times-Colonist)

A caveat for the Edmonton Oil Kings: only two of last 15 WHL championship teams reached the final the following season. Neither won. (Edmonton Sun, The Pipeline Show)

Get to know Red Deer Rebels draft-year defenceman Kayle Doetzel. (The Pipeline Show)

True North, the ownership of the Winnipeg Jets, is not thinking of acquiring a WHL franchise. (Winnipeg Free Press)

OHL

Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds winger Sergey Tolchinsky showed a spark in his preseason debut. (Sault Star)

Would-be Winnipeg Jets rookie Mark Scheifele went out and scored a couple goals in the final hours before the NHL lockout was imposed. A harbinger of what's to come? (Barrie Examiner)

Niagara IceDogs sophomore Trevor Petersen, who was undrafted out of minor hockey, could have a breakout season. (St. Catharines Standard)

Windsor Spitfires players are just as bummed out by the the NHL lockout as you might be. (Windsor Star)

QMJHL

Quebec Remparts owner Jacques Tanguay is not rubbing his hands with glee over a NHL lockout, noting it's unfortunate his team's drafted players are being deprived of going to their first pro training camp. (Le Soleil)

Top draft prospect Nathan MacKinnon is one of the dozen flu-stricken Halifax Mooseheads, who had to scrap their last two pre-season games. How will it affect them for Friday`s regular-season opener, too? General manager Cam Russell: "To go on the ice right now, we can't even really get the players together because we don't want other guys to catch it," (Station Nation, Halifax Chronicle-Herald)

New Jersey Devils first-rounder Stefan Matteau didn't score in any of Blainville-Boisbriand's five preseason games. What's up with that? (La Presse)

The Gatineau Olympiques still look to be in need of goaltending help. (Le Droit)—

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