Monday afternoon notes: Austin Watson traded to London

The NHL trading season is only starting to percolate, but in Canadian junior, things are well underway. Our afternoon hockey notes begin with news that Nashville Predators prospect Austin Watson has been traded today, the second time he's been moved in the last couple seasons.

Follow after the jump for that, plus a tremendous honor going to one of the Preds' familiar faces...

Nashville Predators tickets are getting scarce, so make sure to take the OTF Discount!

Nashville Predators News

OHL: Knights get scary good, adding Austin Watson up front - Buzzing The Net
The Preds' 1st round draft choice from 2010 has been traded between Canadian junior teams once again, as he goes from Peterborough to London for a shot at winning the Memorial Cup. Two seasons ago, he was traded from Windsor to Peterborough late in the season, so missed out on winning one with Ryan Ellis, Cam Fowler, and the rest of that stacked 2010 Spitfires lineup.

Hockey Night in Nashville: Nashville hopes to be more consistent in second half of season
David Poile has said all along that the Preds would be better in the 2nd half of the season than the first, but can all these kids mature that quickly?

Twitter / @PredPAPaul: Congrats to my friend and ...
Pete Weber is the grandest sportscaster in all the land!

Around the Wide Wide World of Hockey

Avs' Johnson, O'Brien miss practice - The Denver Post
You can rule former Preds defenseman Shane O`Brien out for both games between Colorado & Nashville this week with a knee injury. Sorry, ladies!

Jackets Fire Head Coach Scott Arniel, Todd Richards Named Interim Coach - The Cannon
What took them so long???

Patrick Sharp to miss 3-4 weeks - CBSSports.com
The Blackhawks lose one of their key forwards for a while.

Kings’ Dustin Penner injures himself while eating a stack of delicious pancakes - Puck Daddy
Wow, and to think I made pancakes for my kids Sunday morning. Apparently we all narrowly avoided serious injury!

Fantasy Hockey: Welcome back to offensive domination, Alex Ovechkin - Puck Daddy
Yeah, boy! My main fantasy hockey team has already done well while Ovie sputtered at the beginning of the season, and I'm more than happy to see him hit his stride.

The Lost Milbury Files: J.P. Dumont - Lighthouse Hockey
Mark takes a trip back in time to when the Islanders drafted J.P.

Fan who threw banana at Flyers’ Simmonds fined $200, act deemed racism-free - Puck Daddy
Fortunately, the banana was unloaded and nobody got hurt.

Are Changes Needed to NHL’s Instigator Rule? | All Habs
Would eliminating the instigator penalty restore the notion of "accountability" for guys who dish out cheap hits? Quite possibly.

Weathering the Storm- Mounting Injuries make playoffs an uphill battle - PensBurgh
Considered a Stanley Cup contender before the season, Pittsburgh could have to fight just to make the post-season, given all the injuries they're dealing with.

The Evolution Of Erik Karlsson: Scoring Star and Norris Contender | The Hockey Writers
Is the Ottawa blueliner this season's Keith Yandle?

Press Box Musings: One-on-One with Paul Kelly - Arctic Ice Hockey
The face of US college hockey sounds off on why they're hosting a College Hockey Classic in Winnipeg, and the ongoing rivalry between college hockey and Canadian junior.