WHL mining Minnesota for players: Wednesday’s coast-to-coast

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

WHL

Chris Peters looks at how more and more Minnesota players are starting to look at developing in the Western Hockey League. (United States of Hockey)

So the Saskatoon Blades ran in formidable opposition in the form of Calgary and now their point streak is more over than the Harlem Shake. Quoth Blade coach-GM Lorne Molleken: "I hope the Calgary fans enjoyed it because that's about the only people who did." (Saskatoon StarPhoenix)

Kamloops' Kale Kessy rubbed salt in the wound after getting "choked" in a tussle by Victoria tough guy Tim Traber during a 6-0 Blazers win over the Royals: "We need him on the ice. He's not a threat to us." (Kamloops Daily News)

Four wins in their last five games would give the Portland Winterhawks a club record for points in a season, for what this is worth. (Portland Tribune)

Saskatoon's Josh Nicholls has landed his NHL entry-level deal with the New York Rangers. Didn't the Toronto Maple Leafs own his rights once? (New York Daily News)

No, no one is sick of Tri-City and Spokane always meeting in the first round. (Spokane Spokesman-Review)

OHL

The Kitchener Rangers could have goalie John Gibson back by Friday. Meantime, have they pitched camp inside Guelph goalie Garret Sparks' head? Seems that way. (Waterloo Record, Ranger Report)

Okay, you win, America: Connor McDavid is exactly like Sidney Crosby. Just let the Erie Otters wunderkind be. (WTAE)

Max Domi can finish and facilitate, but you knew that already. (London Free Press)

Why isn't anyone talking up Mike Vellucci for coach-GM of the year? The Plymouth Whalers are 21-5-0-1 since Jan. 1. (Detroit Free Press)

General manager Kyle Dubas has got the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds back on the rails, but don't forget some of the talent was brought north by his predecessor Dave Torrie. (Sault Star)

The Belleville Bulls need a slump-buster coming into tonight's game vs. Ottawa. (Belleville Intelligencer)

The next court date for the Soo Greyhounds' Nick Cousins and Andrew Fritsch and Ottawa 67's Mark Petaccio, who face charges of sexual assault, is April 4. (Soo Today)

QMJHL

While he's all of 5-foot-8, Rimouski defenceman and newest Anaheim Ducks prospect Kevin Gagné stands above many recent NHL signees in being a story to cheer for. (Le Soleil)

Is Baie-Comeau's Valentin Zykov the league's top offensive rookie? (NHL.com)

Not only is P.E.I.'s Alex Micallef a quietly effective defenceman, but he has an 86 per cent average still studying kinesiology, a word this former English major had to Google to spell correctly. (Charlottetown Guardian)

Moncton's Yannick Veilleux has signed with the St. Louis Blues. (Bleedin' Blue)

Defenceman Jean-Simon Deslauriers, who left Cape Breton earlier this season, is progressing well as a top-four defender in Gatineau. (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.