Forward Anthony Mantha of the Val-d'Or Foreurs in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is proving to be quite the offensive force to open the 2012-13 season.

The 18-year-old connected for his third hat trick of the year -- scoring four goals and one assist -- in a 5-4 overtime victory over the Rimouski Oceanic on Wednesday to move into a tie with Rouyn-Noranda's Jean-Sebastien Dea for the league scoring lead with 28 points. Mantha, who is regarded as an A skater on NHL Central Scouting's preliminary players to watch list from the QMJHL, has 15 goals and 13 assists for the season.

Highly regarded 2013 NHL Draft prospect Jonathan Drouin of the Halifax Mooseheads returned to the lineup with a vengeance on Wednesday before 6,634 fans at the Halifax Metro Centre.

Drouin, who was sidelined the previous six games with an upper-body injury, connected for two goals and two assists to help lead the Mooseheads to a 6-2 victory over the Drummondville Voltigeurs.

Hockey Canada on Wednesday released the 60-man roster attending training camp for team Canada West that will participate in the World Junior A Challenge, to be held Nov. 5-11 at the Mariners Centre in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.

The Canada West camp will be held Oct. 28-31 at the Markin MacPhail Center in Calgary. Players for the camp were selected from the Canadian Junior Hockey League's five western Junior A leagues: the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL), Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL), Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL), Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) and Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL).

Halifax Mooseheads forward Jonathan Drouin will return to the lineup on Wednesday after sitting out the previous six games with an upper-body injury.

"He's good to go," Halifax general manager Cam Russell told The Chronicle Herald. "It's always a good moment when a player like Jonathan is in your line-up. He's played extremely well for us so far. We're excited to have him back."

Halifax (12-1-0), which ranks first overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, will play host to the Drummondville Voltigeurs (7-6-0), which is third in the Telus West Division, at Metro Centre.

It appears forward J.T. Compher of the U.S. Under-18 National Team Development Program may be sidelined another two weeks with an undisclosed injury.

Compher, who has two goals and three points in six games for the USNTDP this season, is projected by many to be the first NTDP player off the board at the 2013 NHL Draft at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., in June. He was listed as an A skater on NHL Central Scouting's preliminary list of players to watch in the United States Hockey League in September.

"There is no timetable [on Compher's return], but his progress has been positive," U.S. Under-18 NTDP coach Don Granato told NHL.com. "I would think, if I'm going to guess, he'll be out two more weeks."

Center Nathan MacKinnon of the Halifax Mooseheads and goalie Philippe Desrosiers of the Rimouski Oceanic on Monday were named the TELUS stars of the week in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

MacKinnon and Desrosiers are regarded as top prospects for the 2013 NHL Draft in June at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. MacKinnon is listed as an A skater on NHL Central Scouting's preliminary players to watch list and Desrosiers is listed as a B goalie.

Baie-Comeau Drakkar forward Petr Straka, a second-round draft choice of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2010, was also named a star of the week in the QMJHL.

Forward Justin Bailey of the Ontario Hockey League's Kitchener Rangers has begun skating without contact as he continues to progress via the "Return to Play" protocol.

Bailey has been sidelined with concussion-like symptoms from a hit he sustained in the neutral zone on Sept. 27 against the Windsor Spitfires.

"Justin is quite upbeat and excited to be skating again," Kitchener's head trainer, Dan LeBold, told NHL.com. "He is retaking his post-concussion impact test [Wednesday] and that will determine his next course of action along the RTP protocol."

DALLAS, Tx. -- The growth of hockey in the United States is alive and well according to 2012 Lester Patrick Trophy recipients Dick Patrick and Bob Chase-Wallenstein.

"Hockey has grown tremendously the past 30 years or so," Patrick said. "When [U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame inductee] Mike Modano was coming up through the system, the best players in the United States were from Minnesota and Detroit, but now they're coming from all over, including Washington, California and Dallas."

Modano can vividly recall the first time he learned how Americans were viewed overseas.

"I didn't know the impact it had until I went to Moscow in 1987 to play in the World Junior Championship and see the impact, internationally, that we had and how people viewed American hockey players," Modano said. "That perception they had about us … we were so young at the time that we wanted to change that perception. It was almost like the Europeans didn't think we belonged on their level. We always wanted to prove to other countries that we could play with anyone."

Dick Patrick was humbled when told he'd be one of two recipients of the 2012 Lester Patrick Trophy to be awarded on Monday at U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame ceremonies at the Plaza of the Americas Atrium in downtown Dallas.

Dick Patrick becomes the third family member to receive the trophy, which is named after his grandfather. The award, one of the most prestigious in hockey, was presented to the NHL by the New York Rangers in 1966. It honors the memory of Lester Patrick, who spent 50 years in hockey as a player, coach and general manager and was a pioneer in the sport's development.

Mike Modano still needs to pinch himself when told he'll be inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in the city of Dallas.

Modano received quite an ovation when introduced to the stage as one of the three U.S. Hall of Fame inductees on Monday by Master of Ceremonies Steve Levy.

"We never really felt in our heart of hearts that hockey would move down here and thrive like it has and, in the process, turn [the Dallas Stars] into one of the most successful franchises in the League," Modano said. "It's been a remarkable transition the way the game has changed in Dallas. It's been great watching the popularity and the way it has come together."