OHL outdoor games hinge on end to NHL lockout: Friday’s coast-to-coast

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

WHL

You already guessed Seth Jones is the Dub's top NHL draft prospect, but whom do Sportsnet's Sam Cosentino and Patrick King see as the second-best? It's not the same guy. (Sportsnet)

Patrick King also has today's should-read, a takedown piece on the proposed Canadian Hockey League Players' Association: "They've made one thing clear: they want money, and lots of it. Sure, they can put more money in the players' pockets and more towards their education, but how come they're not telling anyone how much they're making?" (Sportsnet)

The Eastern Conference-leading Calgary Hitmen's depth will be tested during back-to-back-to-back games this weekend. (Calgary Herald)

The Portland Winterhawks are winning through defence? They've changed, man. (Oregon Live)

The Victoria Royals have a trap game tonight vs. the Vancouver Giants. (Victoria Times-Colonist)

Phoenix Coyotes-drafted winger Kale Kessy returns from his 12-game suspension tonight: "I'm definitely going to be the most watched guy in the league." (Vancouver Sun)

The Edmonton Oil Kings finally strung some signature performances together, but then didn't play for a week, c'est la vie. (Edmonton Journal)

Puck-moving defenceman Connor Cox is easing the load on Ryan Murray in Everett. (Everett Herald)

OHL

The Detroit Red Wings have confirmed that no NHL Winter Classic means no Hockeytown Winter Festival. The latter includes two OHL games on Dec. 28. (Crain's Detroit Business)

Folks in Sault Ste. Marie are not going to let it go with regard to Philadelphia Flyers prospect Nick Cousins being omitted from Team OHL, even though he's tied for third in league scoring. (Sault Star)

San Jose Sharks pick Chris Tierney ended an 11-game goal-less drought by scoring twice in London's win over Peterborough. (London Free Press)

As genius baseball manager Tony La Russa once put it, "When you're not winning, it's tough to win a game." The Peterborough Petes sustained their fifth one-goal loss in a row and forward Stephen Nosad got a "severe" shoulder bruise. (Peterborough Examiner)

Windsor Spitfires draft-year goalie Jordan DeKort is making the most of his limited playing time. (Windsor Star)

The NHL's Central Scouting Service is now deeming Erie Otters left wing Stephen Harper an 'A' skater for the 2013 draft. Phew, good thing he's already been profiled here. (NHL.com)

QMJHL

The P.E.I. Rocket's win over Chicoutimi included six special teams goals and a line brawl. Think the volume of penalties might have exacerbated the tension? Nah. (Charlottetown Guardian)

Imagine if Blainville-Boisbriand Armada defenceman Xavier Ouellet was born twins? The Detroit Red Wings pick has the job of checking Moncton's Alex and Allain Saulnier on Sportsnet Friday Night Hockey. (Sportsnet)

Quebec Remparts coach-GM Patrick Roy was effusive in his praise for a Russian — only it was Baie-Comeau's Valentin Zykov (BTN's first star), not the two who play for Quebec. All in all, it was a pretty good Thursday for Zykov. (Le Soleil)

In other words, Tampa Bay Lightning pick Nikita Kucherov had an inauspicious return from shoulder surgery for Quebec: "I'm not in perfect shape. Hockey here is totally different. It is faster and more dynamic." (Le Soleil)

Two dozen NHL scouts were on hand to see Gatineau's Martin Reway and Moncton's Ivan Barbashev on Thursday. (Le Droit)

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