Just as originally planned for this year before the lockout led to its cancellation, Ann Arbor’s Michigan Stadium will host the 2014 Winter Classic on New Year’s Day. (Dave Reginek/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

Alright, no real surprise here. The league finally got around to confirming this morning that the 2014 NHL Winter Classic will be exactly where the 2013 NHL Winter Classic was supposed to be, except this time it will, you know, actually take place.

So we’ll have the Red Wings taking on the Maple Leafs at the Big House in Ann Arbor, Mich. on New Year’s Day for what looks to be the biggest game in NHL history. Certainly the biggest in terms of attendance, and probably in terms of hype as well. Read More…

John Tavares, now with the Islanders, was the first player to earn exceptional status. (Bennett Cohen/Icon SMI)

By Allan Muir

When Hockey Canada came up with the exceptional player status as an option to advance the development of high-end players in the Ontario Hockey League, the thinking was that this sort of athlete might come around once in a decade.

But with today’s news that Sean Day had been granted the status, it seems the exceptions are becoming the norm.

Day, a 15-year-old defenseman from Detroit’s highly regarded Compuware program, becomes the fourth player to be allowed to enter the OHL a year early, and the third in three years.

Despite the surprising streak, it’s clear the bar hasn’t been set too low. John Tavares was the first player to earn the distinction in 2005. Four years later, he was the first overall pick in the NHL draft.

Two years ago, it was defenseman Aaron Ekblad. He went first overall in the OHL draft to Barrie, and is expected to be a top-10 pick in the 2014 NHL draft. Connor McDavid earned the exemption last spring. He was Erie’s best player this year, and USA Today compared him to LeBron James in terms of his potential to impact his sport.

And now Day, a proud Canadian who has never lived in the country, gets the chance to prove he’s up to the challenge of the world’s toughest junior circuit.

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Winger Ben Johnson was drafted in the third round, 90th overall by the Devils in 2012. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

UPDATE: Johnson faces charges revolving around two separate incidents. The second involves a 20-year-old woman who came forward as the investigation into the case of the 16-year-old victim was underway.

The Windsor Star is reporting that bail has been posted and Johnson will be released from jail shortly.

Just days after a pair of American high school football players were convicted of rape, Ben Johnson, a 2012 draft pick of the New Jersey Devils, faces charges of sexual assault in the wake of a St. Patrick’s Day incident with a 16-year-old girl.

Johnson appeared in provincial court in Windsor, Ontario today via video and was arraigned.

The 18-year-old Michigan native finished his second season with the Ontario Hockey League’s Windsor Spitfires on Sunday afternoon, then attended an end-of-season gathering with other Spits at the Mynt night club where the assault is alleged to have taken place. Police were called to a local hospital around 2:00 a.m. this morning and they arrested Johnson shortly thereafter.

The Spitfires issued a statement late this afternoon. “Earlier today our organization was made aware of accusations involving a player on our hockey team. Our organization will allow the legal process to run its due course at this time. The team will have no further comment.”

More to come.

By Allan Muir

Give Brendan Shanahan credit. The league’s chief disciplinarian is two-for-two on the season.

Islanders’ forward Colin McDonald became the second player suspended this season by Shanahan after a vicious hit Tuesday night on Pittsburgh’s Ben Lovejoy. Shanny got the call right.

By sitting him for two games (and costing him $7,567.56 in lost salary), Shanahan noted that McDonald was pursuing the puck into the corner but had his eyes on Lovejoy’s back before “recklessly driving the Pittsburgh defender into the boards with great force.”

McDonald was assessed a boarding major on the play, but this was the sort of black-and-white incident that cried out for supplemental discipline. Lovejoy had his back turned the entire way and McDonald had plenty of time to bail out on making contact. Add that he hit the defender about three feet from the boards — the point at which a player has no time or space to protect himself — and McDonald is lucky that his sentence wasn’t longer. That Lovejoy suffered a bloody nose but no serious injury probably saved McDonald from a stiffer penalty.

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