There is no word-mincing in the lead-up to tonight's openers of both QMJHL semifinal series, which is great.

Shawinigan Cataractes GM Martin Mondou and Rouyn-Noranda Huskies coach Andre Tourigny each described the Drummondville Voltigeurs-Moncton Wildcats series as "the real league final." That sentiment might be no surprise, considering the Quebec league's convoluted playoff format which it is junking after this season. When the teams play intra-division series in the first round and are then seeded first through eighth for the second, it increases the chances of having the two best teams meet prior to the final.

It is analogous, to, if not literally like how the NHL's insistence on having the top three seeds go to a division winner meant it got the big Alex Ovechkin-Sidney Crosby showdown in the second round, rather than the third. I'm not sure if there's a cause-and-effect, but a few observers have gone 12-for-12 picking the first two rounds.

The Q is adopting a modified

You would probably need to be past a certain age to be nostalgic for the bad old days when Canada typically fought the current in interenational hockey.

Since Follow Friday is a staple of Twitter, this is an appeal to make some time for the world under-18 championship, where Canada plays the U.S. and presumptive Windsor Spitfires goalie in waiting Jack Campbell today (12 ET/9 PT, fasthockey.com). Brock Otten at the essential OHL Prospects outlined recently how in addition to seeing prospective NHL first-rounders who will be playing in the world junior in a couple years' time, it's also a rare tourney where the boys in red, black and white are underdogs.

"Due to the fact that Canada does not often bring their best players (because most are tied up in the playoffs like Tyler Seguin), we have not fared incredibly well in the event over the years. Since the tournament came to fruition in 1999, we have only won twice (2003 and 2008). We've only medalled three times in total (with a silver

It depends on your notion of coach of the year: is it who did most with the least, or whose team had the biggest improvement?

That debate could be done to death after the London Knights' Dale Hunter copped OHL coach of the year honours over several deserving counterparts, including the Kitchener Rangers' Steve Spott, whose team eliminated London in the playoffs. (The award is based on the regular season only, and the Knights finished 10 points ahead of the Rangers.)

The case for Spott is the Rangers improved by 34 points, from 57 to 91. That was an off-shoot of the team's improved talent level after rebuilding in 2008-09. Spott had a lot to do with nurturing that, but you don't need to be a regular Buzzing The Net reader to know coaches have a limited impact once the puck is dropped. It's in the players' hands, even in major junior.

Hunter's Knights managed to match their 2008-09 output with 49 wins and 101 points the season after losing John Tavares, John Carlson and Michael Del Zotto

Let’s not kid ourselves: Much of picking a Memorial Cup host is staked on the team's ability.

(There is some angst it is about the money. The Windsor Star capitalized "multimillionaire" in front of Mississauga St. Michaels Majors owner Eugene Melnyk's name.)

During a media conference on Wednesday, OHL commissioner David Branch mentioned "quality of team" as a factor taken into consideration before listing off the various creature comforts a city may offer such as hotels and restaurants. Presumably, that's some indication. It's also backed up by some quick Wiki-ing, which reveals the last 15 host teams averaged 88.1 points in the regular season in the season prior to hosting. All but one (last season's host, the QMJHL's Rimouski Océanic, who finished fourth of four teams) recorded at least 90 points at some point in the three previous years.

Barrie, Mississauga and Windsor all had at least 90 points this season, so no problem for them. The race seems to break down along the following

Which team returns the most intact next season is a big part of debating the host for the 2011 Memorial Cup.

One could only wonder whether the selection committee will look at how much scoring each of the four teams bidding -- the Barrie Colts, Kingston Frontenacs, Mississauga St. Michaels Majors and Windsor Spitfires -- have returning next season.

The disparity is pretty striking when you consider how much of its goal scoring each team has received from 20-year-old overage players and 19-year-olds who are likely moving on to the pro ranks next season. Hey, quality of the team matters when bidding to host the Memorial Cup:

Barrie: 67.3% (251 of 373)
Windsor: 55.5% (203 of 366)
Kingston: 42.7% (106 of 248)
Mississauga: 19.8% (50 of 252)

You would have a hard time arguing Windsor Star columnist Bob Duff was wrong when he noted on Tuesday that Barrie "sold its future to go for a title this season," given that the Colts were paced offensively by two overagers acquired from rebuilding