Van Giants tab Tyler Benson No. 1, Brandon scores big in bantam draft: Thursday’s coast-to-coast

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

WHL

Seth Jones' odometer is up to 83 games, including prospects games in two countries and a world junior championship 14 time zones away from Portland. "I didn’t really hit a wall, but probably a few speed bumps," says the top NHL draft prospect. (Portland Tribune)

To the shock of no one, the Vancouver Giants snapped up Tyler Benson with the first overall pick in Thursday's bantam draft. Now the Benson theme music will be in our heads all day long. (Vancouver Sun)

Nolan Patrick and Kale Clague? Brandon Wheat Kings GM Kelly McCrimmon made out like a bandit on draft day. (Brandon Sun, Luber's Lounge)

Rumblings of "recruitment issues" might account for why the Prince George Cougars selected defenceman Josh Anderson with their No. 3 overall bantam pick. (Regina Leader-Post)

Another Howden for Moose Jaw? Former Warriors star Quinton Howden's brother Brett Howden, who played AAA midget as an underager this winter, went No. 5 overall. (Moose Jaw Times-Herald)

A rematch in the WHL final is rare, so savour this Portland-Edmonton matchup. (Edmonton Journal)

If you had been told a 2011 Winnipeg Jets pick would win his league's player of the year award, would you have guessed it would be Swift Current Broncos captain Adam Lowry? (Winnipeg Free Press)

OHL

London Knights defenceman Paxton Leroux has been rewarded for sticking it out during his 18-year-old season, when he nearly left for Junior B to get more ice time. (London Free Press)

Western Conference teams winning the J. Ross Robertson Cup in 10 of the 11 seasons is probably more than a trend. (Bayshore Broadcasting)

As noted during Thursday's Chatravaganza, the OHL has put off the 2014 MasterCard Memorial Cup host announcement until after the Barrie-London champiionship series. (Barrie Examiner)

Is Chris Hartsburg (son of former Soo Greyhounds coach Craig) joining the Erie Otters' coaching staff? Meantime, keep an eye on 17-year-old Otters blueline prospect Travis Dermott, who had a fine Junior A campaign with the Newmarket Hurricanes. (Shootout)

Virginia native Kyle Rhodes, a sixth-round pick in the priority selection, is eager to impress the Guelph Storm next season. Or is that Quelph? (Powhatan Today)

Not OHL, but remember the story of the Picton Pirates being stripped of a win in the Ontario Junior C final due to a refereeing error? It did not stop the Pirates from winning the provincial titl. (Belleville Intelligencer)

QMJHL

Today's should-read: Patrick King on when Halifax Mooseheads GM Cam Russell got the notion to try to land both Jonathan Drouin and Nathan MacKinnon. (Sportsnet)

Halifax overage defenceman Konrad Abeltshauser's pregame routine includes drinking a Dr. Pepper. Oh, to be that young again. (Metro Halifax)

For the Mooseheads, why fix what does not appear to be broken? (Halifax Chronicle-Herald)

Former Mooseheads Carl Gélinas and Francis Turbide figure prominently in the Baie-Comeau Drakkar's plan to pull an upset in the final. (Le Nouvelliste)

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet. Please address any questions, comments or concerns to btnblog@yahoo.ca.