Here’s your bikini of the day from bikinibeat.org:

On Fan 590 Tonight-

- open phones with McCown from 4:05 to 4:40
- Grapeline with Don Cherry & Brian Williams at 4:45
- co-host from 5:00 to 7:00 is John Shannon
5:20 Dan Shulman, ESPN
5:42 Peter Berg, Director of the ESPN Documentary Kings Ransom
6:05 Jeff Hunt, Ottawa 67’s Owner & trying to get a CFL Team
6:30 Lester Munson, ESPN Legal Analyst
6:45 Eddie Olczyk, NBC & Versus

On 640 with Brady and Watters thanks to Mike S.:

- Cam Fowler of the Windsor Spitfires
- Rob Higgins, fantasy hockey expert
- hockey insider Scott Morrison at 6:10

Seguin, Hall.

It’s a battle that has started early in this 2009-10 OHL season and could continue right through to the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

Taylor Hall of the Windsor Spitfires has been on NHL teams’ radar screens for some time now, and had been tabbed the “next big thing” in the OHL once John Tavares moved on to the Island. However, Plymouth Whalers forward Tyler Seguin has turned heads for his scoring prowess early in the season, and it appears that we could be in for an interesting race to the scoring title.

TSN hockey insider Bob McKenzie is one of the many NHL experts keeping an eye on the Taylor / Tyler rivalry. In a recent blog post, McKenzie reported that “the Taylor Hall versus Tyler Seguin argument is one we’re going to be interested in watching as we head towards the 2010 NHL entry draft.”

Through 10 games this season, Seguin leads the league in goals and total points, potting 14 goals and collecting 25 points. Meanwhile, Hall has played 11 games, but still trails with 10 goals and 12 assists (22 points).

Hall, though, leads where it matters most. While Seguin’s Whalers currently rank sixth in the Western Conference with a 6-4 record, Hall has led the high-powered Spitfires’ attack out to a West-leading 7-3-0-1 mark.

The two young phenoms, along with Windsor defenceman and fellow 2010 top prospect Cam Fowler, will clash for the first time this season on Saturday in a rematch of last year’s six-game Western semifinal. Needless to say, NHL scouts will certainly be paying attention.

That collective shudder you just heard throughout the OHL is the surprising return of the 2008-09 Player of the Year, Cody Hodgson of the Brampton Batallion.

Tabbed by many, including TheHockeyNews.com, as a Calder Trophy contender heading into the season, Hodgson continued to show the lingering effects of the bulging disc he suffered in the off-season and did not impress in Canucks camp.

This is Christmas come early for a struggling Batallion squad that has stumbled out of the gate to an 0-3 start to the season after reaching the OHL finals one year ago. Interestingly, Brampton began the year in disappointing fashion last season as well, starting out 2-6 before turning the season around.

Hodgson’s return also marks another entry into what will be a fascinating OHL scoring race. With Nazem Kadri (London Knights) previously being sent down by the Leafs to join Taylor Hall (Windsor Spitfires), Tyler Seguin (Plymouth Whalers), Eric O’Dell (Sudbury Wolves), and Luke Pither and Alexander Burmistrov (Barrie Colts), Hodgson will be in tough to claim the OHL scoring mantle from John Tavares.

Part two of our three-part trip through the CHL will see us head west for a look at the season ahead in the Western Hockey League. Last season saw the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires end the WHL’s two-year reign as home of the Memorial Cup champions (the Vancouver Giants in 2006 and the Spokane Chiefs in 2007), and WHL teams will surely be looking to take the Cup back this year.

Still licking their wounds from a loss to Windsor in the Memorial Cup final, the 2008-09 WHL champion Kelowna Rockets have not fared much better in the offseason following the defeat. The Rockets have lost Jamie Benn (Dallas Stars), Colin Long (Phoenix Coyotes), and Michael Backlund (Calgary Flames), the team’s top three play-off scorers, to their NHL clubs. For Kelowna, hope for a return to the Memorial Cup comes in the form of 6’7” defenceman Tyler Myers, who Slam! sports referred to as “the Zdeno Chara of the WHL.” However, even his return to the team is a question mark, depending on his performance during training camp with the Buffalo Sabres.

Also watching NHL training camp battles with interest are the Vancouver Giants. Already reeling from the graduation of reigning scoring champ Casey Pierro-Zabotel, the Giants are specifically focused on the Atlanta Thrashers’ camp, where 2009 first round draft pick (fourth over-all) Evander Kane is looking to crack the big club. On the bright side, Vancouver has brought in former NCAA standout Kevin Connaughton to help form a solid core with new go-to forward Lance Bouma and up-and-coming defenceman David Musil. The team is heavy on intangibles after falling victim to the Rockets in the conference final despite going in as the No. 1 seed.

With conference front-runners Kelowna and Vancouver struggling with player personnel issues, the Western Conference could be ripe for the taking on the part of an opportunistic underdog and the Prince George Cougars could fit the bill. The Cougars boast a rising goaltending phenom in Michael Salmon and, most notably, scoring phenom Brett Connolly. The left winger’s 30-goal campaign last season as a 16-year-old caught the attention of many observers and helped him secure a No. 5 ranking in TSN’s top 10 prospect list for the 2010 draft. TSN’s Bob McKenzie called Connolly “a smooth and polished offensive performer who plays the game with a great deal of confidence.”

The Eastern Conference champion Calgary Hitmen were so flush with firepower last season that even losing a few of their top scorers should not diminish the team’s status as an offensive powerhouse. The Hitmen, who scored a WHL-high 330 goals and boasted three of the top eight leading scorers last season, will welcome back league leading scorer Brandon Kozun, bruising wingers Ian Schultz and Kris Foucault, and power play quarterback Michael Stone. Two games into the 09-10 season, Tyler Fiddler appears primed to step into an offence-oriented role with the Hitmen, already collecting four goals and an assist.
Breathing down the neck of the Hitmen are the Saskatoon Blades, who finished second to Calgary in the 2008-09 conference standings and return seven of their top eight scorers. These players include Saskatoon’s top three scorers from a year ago, Derek Hulak, Milan Kytnar, and Walker Wintoneak. On the defensive end, the Blades return Stefan Elliott and Teigan Zahn, as well as Finnish puck mover Jyri Niemi who, as Newsday.com notes, “has quickly become a crowd favorite in [two seasons] largely for his big shot and enthusiastic goal celebrations.” The team’s biggest question mark will come in between the pipes, where inexperienced Adam Morrison will be called on to backstop the Blades in just his second WHL season and first as a starter.

Though Kelowna and Vancouver have plenty to lose as they see their star players vie for NHL jobs in training camp, perhaps no team has more on the line than the Brandon Wheat Kings, who have to be considered the wild card in the East. Conference finalists last season, the Wheat Kings could see 2009 first round draft picks C Brayden Schenn (No. 5, Los Angeles) and RW Scott Glennie (No. 8, Dallas) depart. Yet, if they both return, Brandon quickly becomes a team to watch this year. If Schenn and Glennie stick with their NHL clubs, look for 30-goal scorer Jay Fehr to become the offensive focus. On the blue line, Florida Panthers draft pick Colby Robak is coming off a 42-point campaign and should take the reins on the powerplay.

CHL junior hockey is ready to kick off its 2009-10 season as 60 teams from the OHL, WHL, and QMJHL get set to embark upon the road to the Memorial Cup. To give you a taste of what to expect along the way, I will be examining who to watch and what to look for within each of the OHL’s three leagues. Today, let’s check in with the OHL.

The Windsor Spitfires juggernaut enters the season having not missed a beat since winning the franchise’s first ever Memorial Cup last May. LW Taylor Hall, fresh off an MVP performance at the tournament, looks primed to succeed John Tavares as hockey’s Next Big Thing and is already being tabbed by some as a projected first over-all pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. He is backed by an impressive supporting cast that includes D Ryan Ellis, a 2009 first rounder (No. 11, Nashville Predators) and Max Kaminsky Trophy winner (OHL MVP). All in all, the Spitfires have 11 returnees, not a good sign for the rest of the league.

But that target on their back will not fade, especially with a number of talented teams chasing them.

The London Knights always seem to loom large among the OHL contenders, and this season is no different for the Spitfires’ Western Conference rivals. With Tavares off in Long Island, the big question with the 2008-09 conference finalists is the availability of Leafs No. 1 pick Nazem Kadri (7th over-all), who is turning heads among some of the big club executives. While it would be difficult to absorb the blow of losing Tavares and Kadri, the presence of forwards Phil Varone and Philip McRae, along with defencemen Michael Del Zotto and over-ager Steven Tarasuk would certainly be a nice cushion.

Switching over to the Eastern Conference, the Barrie Colts represent one of the few teams in the “O” who can match the firepower of Windsor. New acquisitions Luke Pither (from Belleville) and Alexander Burmistrov (Russian import) will lead a deep forward corps that returns 10 Colts from last season. Their season will come down to performance on the back end, with a shaky defence and a first-time starting goaltender in Peter Di Salvo.

The league’s three local squads – the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors, the Brampton Battalion, and the Oshawa Generals – are heading in a variety of different directions. The Majors are a team on the rise following their conference semifinal appearance last season. With a standout goaltending tandem of Chris Carrozzi and J.P. Anderson and defensive stalwart Cameron Gaunce, goals will be at a premium for opponents.

However, the Battalion and Generals seem to be going in the other direction. Fresh off a run to the OHL championship final, Brampton has been quickly thrust into a rebuilding phase after losing its top three scorers from last year – Matt Duchene (Colorado), Cody Hodgson (Vancouver), and Evgeny Grachev (New York Rangers). The Generals, meanwhile, are well into their rebuilding effort after getting younger in a hurry following their swap of Tavares and Del Zotto which netted them RW Christian Thomas, D Scott Valentine, G Michael Zador, and a slew of draft picks.

Aside from the championship contenders, there are a number of intriguing storylines to watch heading into the season.

-  The Kingston Frontenacs, led by head coach Doug Gilmour, looked primed to advance past the first round of the play-offs for the first time since the 1997-98 season.
-  A talented Ottawa 67’s team is set to reign in the post-Brian Kilrea era, led by a strong defensive unit that returns Tyler Cuma and Julien Demers.
-  Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds F Jordan Nolan, the team’s top scorer last year and the son of Ted Nolan, will open the season serving a 20-game suspension following an attack on R.J. Mahalak of the Plymouth Whalers late last year. In his absence, the Greyhounds will look for a boost from No. 1 over-all draft pick Daniel Catenacci.

Here’s your bikini of the day from bikinibeat.org:

On Fan 590 Tonight-

- open phones with McCown from 4:05 to 4:40
- co-host from 5:00 to 7:00 is Stephen Brunt
5:20 Bob Elliott, Toronto Sun
5:40 Dan Bickley, Arizona Republic
6:05 Don Banks, SI.COM
6:30 Mark Fainaru-Wada, ESPN on the new head of the NFLPA
6:45 Leigh Steinberg, Super Agent

On 640 with Brady and Watters thanks to Mike S.:

- Claude Julien, head coach of the Boston Bruins
- Bob Boughner, head coach of the Windsor Spitfires
- Jay Triano, head coach of the Toronto Raptors

Here is a good clip of the newest Maple Leaf/Marlie:

Follow me on twitter at @yyzsportsmedia

Richard Greenop didn’t make the tv shows yeaterday. He wasn’t on Twitter either. However, he is the Brian Burke era player. He is 6 foot 4, 235 20 year old who just finished 3 years in Windsor. I am told he may have been the toughest guy in the OHL last year. He was 6th in the league with 155 PIMs last year.
I am told that he is the undisputed heavyweight in the O, by far. I am sure you are shocked to learn that his skating needs work!
New Burke style leafs, and marlies!

TSM

Here’s your bikini of the day from bikinibeat.org:

On Fan 590 Tonight- thanks to Mike S.

- Jeff Blair is in for Mccown
Jim Kelley is co-hosting
JP. Ricciardi may drop in depending on what time the Jays game ends

On 640 with Brady and Watters:

510 Bob Boughner, Windsor Spitfires owner

610 Dreger/Morrison, Inside The NHL

640 Jim Nill, Red Wings Assistant GM

Here’s your bikini of the day from bikinibeat.org:

On Fan 590 Tonight- thanks to Mike S.

- open phones with McCown from 4:05 to 4:55

- business report at 4:55

- co-host at 5:05 is Stephen Brunt

- Friday roundtable from 5:05 to 7:00 with James Deacon and Neil Smith

On 640 with Brady and Watters:

4-5 Larry King, CNN (In studio)
5.10 Bob McKenzie, TSN
5.20 Warren Rychel, GM, Windsor Spitfires
6.10 Dreger/Morrison, Inside The NHL
6.40 John McDonough, Blackhawks President