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Sarnia Sting surging, and an exemption for Ehlers: CHL Hot & Cold

Overage Taylor Dupuis leads the OHL with a .932 save percentage (Terry Wilson, OHL Images)
Overage Taylor Dupuis leads the OHL with a .932 save percentage (Terry Wilson, OHL Images)

With their two first overall picks out of the lineup, the Sarnia Sting have managed to get on a roll.

Sixteen-year-old defenceman Jakub Chychrun has been out since Oct. 25, while 17-year-old Pavel Zacha is also serving a supension for boarding. Yet Sarnia, with goalie Taylor Dupuis making an early case for overage of the year honours with a league-leading .932 save percentage, is managing to stay afloat in the Western Conference. It bears highlighting since they were so far down last season.

Here is the weekly look at who is flowing and who is ebbing across the Canadian Hockey League.


OHL

Hot: Sarnia Sting

Sarnia (.538 point pct. in 26 games, seventh in the Western Conference) has had a different game-winning goal scorer in each victory during its 7-1 stretch. And, needless to say, Dupis has been the rock with a league-high .932 save percentage. Coach Trevor Letowski's Sting will have their occasional long nights against the upper-crust teams (see a recent 7-1 loss to Erie), but they are on a run of winning tight games. Eighteen-year-old Brandon Lindberg has had six points during the current five-game win streak, which has all come while top NHL draft prospect Pavel Zacha has been sitting out a suspension for boarding. Adding overage wing Stephen Pierog has also fortified the forward lines.

Tampa Bay Lightning first-rounder Anthony DeAngelo (seven points in the last five games) is on Team USA's preliminary roster. The 19-year-old could end up being Uncle Sam's top four.

Not: Owen Sound Attack

Owen Sound (.580 point pct. in 25 games, tied for fifth in the West) has three goals in as many games during their current skid. The Attack scored four goals only thrice in 11 games in November and coach Greg Ireland colourfully vehemed that his team, "want(s) to be cute and be on TSN but we're not scoring. Maybe we should just start putting pucks on the net and driving the net."

Ouch for the Attack and, by extension, ouch for the Canadian Hockey League's media partner. The Attack have a game vs. high-powered Erie and a home-and-home vs. the Kitchener Rangers during the final week before they see No. 1 defenceman Chris Bigras off to the national junior team. At the same time, Detroit Red Wings prospect Zach Nastasiuk will be one of the best 19-year-olds hanging around for the holidays while other teams are depleted due to the WJC.

Canadian NHL team prospects

Carter Verhaeghe, Niagara (No. 82 by Toronto Maple Leafs in 2013) — The 19-year-old centre had a six-point week during a 2-1 week for the 'Dogs, who are within six points of the playoff pack in the Eastern Conference.

Jimmy Lodge, Mississauga (No. 84 by Winnipeg Jets in '13) — On top of having four picks on Canada and USA's preliminary rosters, the Jets also have good news from the Lodge. Since his move to the GTA, where he played minor hockey, Lodge has six points in five games and has given the Steelheads attack some punch.

Cole Cassels, Oshawa (No. 85 by Vancouver Canucks in '13) — The American-born Cassels is going camping with Team USA even though he's currently serving a 10-game check-to-the-head ban. Cassels had 11 points over his last 5½ games before the suspension.

Tobias Lindberg, Oshawa (No. 102 by Ottawa Senators in 2013) — The power winger has six points over his last five games.

Ben Harpur, Guelph (No. 108 by the Senators in '13) — Guelph's inconsistency behind its own blueline was likely an extenuating circumstance in Harpur not being on Canada's selection camp roster after being invited to the largest August development camp. The 19-year-old did have nine points over eight games on the month.

The Storm, incidentally, could lose their top three centres Jason Dickinson, Robby Fabbri and Pius Suter to the WJC. Guelph went 8-2 during the holiday period last season. That's likely not happening.

QMJHL

Hot: Victoriaville Tigres

The shake-up that led to coach-turned-GM Yanick Jean leaving for Chicoutimi had a salubrious effect on the Tigres' play and their Dynamic Dozen ranking. A 2-0 northern trip that included an 11-1 win with a triumvirate of tricks from Gabriel Gagné, Angelo Miceli and Tommy Vellieux. Jean leaving for a better fit is part of the game and to their credit, the Tigres understood that and didn't let it affect their play. Eighteen-year-old Mathieu Ayotte was also a glue guy, with three assists in the win over the Huskies.

Victoriaville (.589 point pct. in 28 games, eighth in the 18-team QMJHL) has three of its next four games at home.

Not: Rouyn-Noranda Huskies

By the numbers, the Huskies and Tigres were trending in disparate directions when they faced off on Sunday in the Abitibi. Rouyn-Noranda (.517 point pct., tied for 10th with Shawinigan) ended up taking an 0-3 weekend at home. It's a collective stumble, of course, but the La Nouvelle Union newspaper noted that Minnesota Wild-drafted goalie Alexandre Bélanger has just been a little off, giving up five goals in consecutive starts. In between, the Huskies tried to save Bélanger's confidence by not starting him against Halifax and Nikolaj Ehlers, but he ended relieving in the third period and giving up the superstar's hat trick goal.

Canadian NHL team prospects

Nikolaj Ehlers, Halifax (No. 9 by Winnipeg in '13) — He makes this blurb write itself. Ehlers had 13 points during a three-game northern swing last weekend. That should put the Dashing Dane in the category of Guy We Can't Put In Three Stars Anymore Since It's Unfair To Everyone Else. Who has a five-assist night and a four-goal game in the same week, really?

Daniel Audette, Sherbrooke (No. 147 by Montreal in '14) — Audette got the tough points at the end of a road trip with five on a three-game Maritimes sojourn. Sherbrooke went unbeaten in regulation on the trip to stay within contact of the West Division lead.

Francis Perron, Rouyn-Noranda (No. 190 by Ottawa in '14) — The 18-year-old ran his point streak to 13 games after getting two assists on Sunday. The run has continued during a Huskies slump, which actually speaks well for the potential seventh-round steal.

WHL

Hot: Regina Pats

A Saskatchewan team taking 8-of-10 points from a B.C. Division swing happens about never. As Regan Bartel chronicled, though, in the summer the Pats earned a break on turnaround times for trip since athletic therapist Greg Mayer was sent to the scheduling meeting. Regina responded by winning 4-of-5, with wing Connor Gay (eight points) and team leader Morgan Klimchuk (six) leading the way.

The reward for the Pats (.611 pt. pct., second in the Eastern Division) is a visit from the potent Brandon Wheat Kings on Wednesday. The Wheaties have been a steep hill for Regina to climb recently.

Not: Kamloops Blazers

Well, at least someone in B.C. had Grey Cup fever: Kamloops is winless in four and gave up a touchdown at home to Regina in their most recent fixture. A propensity for slow starts has been cited as part of the problem for the Blazers, who are also lacking complementary scoring beyond Cole Ully, Matt Needham and Deven Sideroff at the top of the lineup.

Kamloops (.466 point pct. in 29 games, fourth in the B.C. Division) has a three home-game week before finishing out the first half with an Eastern Conference road swing. So it is entering a semi-critical juncture.

Canadian NHL team prospects

Morgan Klimchuk, Regina (No. 28 by Calgary in '13) — As alluded to, the left wing who's in contention for a two-way energy role for Team Canada was the Pats' linchpin during their B.C. roadie. Klimchuk had five points across the final three games of the trip.

Nic Petan and Chase De Leo , Portland (No. 43 in '13 and No. 99 by Winnipeg in '13) — The pair have led Portland on a five-game win streak while earning invites to their countries' national junior selection camps. Petan is on a skein of four two-point games. The California-raised De Leo has seven points over his last five games.

Austin Carroll, Victoria (No. 184 by Calgary in '14) — Carroll had three goals in as many games for the Royals, who are beginning to separate from the rest of the B.C. Division pack but would need a high-powered telescope to see Kelowna in the standings.

Greg Chase, Victoria (No. 188 by Edmonton in '13) — Chase has a three-game goal streak entering the week; he's been off the scoresheet only once in five games since arriving on Vancouver Island.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.