Freddy Gauthier sustains Rimouski roll, Petes pick up pace: CHL Hot & Cold

In a year where parity is the watchword out east, Toronto Maple Leafs first-rounder Frédérik Gauthier and the Rimouski Océanic are bucking the odds with an 11-game win streak at crunch time.

Big things were expected for the Océanic after it has a centre, Gauthier, defenceman Sam Morin and goalie Philippe Desrosiers contribute to Canada ending a four-year U.S. reign at the IIHF world under-18 championship (where the Great White North is typically without several stars whose junior teams are still in the playoffs). The potential is panning out, with Rimouski chipping into what once seemed like a secure cushion for Quebec League-leading Baie-Comeau. Gauthier's all-around game and recent scoring outburst has been a big cog.

Let's look at who is ebbing and who is flowing entering the regular season's penultimate week.

OHL

Hot: Peterborough Petes

The Jody Hull-helmed Petes are on a similar arc to last season, when they had to play desperate to catch up to the playoff pack. Peterborough, which downed two of the O's top five teams with wins over Oshawa and at London, is 16-9-0-1 since the start of the second half. While adding Hunter Garlent was critical, the Petes' nucleus has expanded over this back half of the year with No. 3 overall pick Matt Spencer, and to a good extent young forward Anthony Stefano (nine points over the last seven games) developing well.

The club lacks collective playoff experience after finishing early for three consecutive seasons, but overage goalie Andrew D'Agostini is an old hand at dealing with a heavy volume of shots in low-scoring games. The Petes are all but locked into the Eastern Conference's No. 6 overall seed, but could be a darkhose against whoever settles into the 3-hole.

The Petes won three in a row last weekend without Garlent, who was away mourning the death of his father, Rob Garlent. It's only a win streak if one counts league games and not a sledge hockey exhibition. As Jonatan Tanus put it: "It was tough for the upper body and not easy to get the puck and move it forward."

Not: Kitchener Rangers

Buffalo Sabres second-rounder Justin Bailey went down with an injured shoulder on Valentine's Day, taking a big chunk of the Blueshirts' austere attack with him. The Rangers have lost five in a row and are all but outside the playoff bubble.

Cold is a misnomer. Kitchener taken on water since 17-year-old forward Nick Magyar and veteran defenceman Max Iafrate also went on the injured list. Its season has been far from a write-off, with Darby Llewellyn enjoying a breakout (24 goals after starting the season as a fourth-liner) and some younger defencemen also coming along decently. Kitchener's faint playoff hopes are even fainter since two of its last six are against powerhouse Guelph.

Canadian NHL team prospects

Carter Verhaeghe, Niagara (No. 82 by Toronto Maple Leafs in '13) — Verhaeghe is one for the cold group, for sure. The centre has only six assists over Niagara's last dozen games, as he and Brendan Perlini typically draw the more daunting checkers and defence pairings. The upside is the IceDogs got a boost from overage Eric Ming and won twice on a northern Ontario swing to keep pace in the turtle derby for their conference's last two playoff spots.

Kyle Platzer, Owen Sound (No. 96 by Edmonton Oilers in '13) — The skilled centre has found a happy place with the Attack, tallying 13 points (10G-3A) over his last 13 games while fitting into a team he joined in January. Platzer was scratched on Sunday from a game against Ottawa due to food poisoning. It ended being a 7-6 overtime game, so he missed a chance to pad his stats.

Dane Fox, Erie (free agent signing, Vancouver Canucks in '13) — Fox came back from being a healthy scratch on Feb. 24 at Sudbury to post two goals in a road win at Sarnia. With 58 on the season, he has an outside shot to match the 65 that Reid Boucher put up to lead the OHL in 2013.

QMJHL

Hot: Rimouski Océanic

Is it the Océanic getting the nod two weeks in row? It is Océanic getting the nod two weeks in row. Rimouski did a number on a high-scoring Rouyn-Noranda outfit by winning both ends of a two-game set 3-1 and 5-2 to give 11 wins in a row. Gauthier scored three goals over those two games (okay, one was an empty-netter) and won 57.4 per cent of his faceoffs. Gauthier also sewed part of the blanket that the Océanic tossed over overage scorer Marcus Power, who had no points and was minus-6 across two games.

Rimouski has a two-game series this weekend vs. league-leading Baie-Comeau; a sweep puts it range of finishing first overall. What goes up (and up) must come down eventually.

Not: Gatineau Olympiques

How the 'Piques fare on Wednesday vs. Blainville-Boisbriand could be an indicator of their fitness for the playoffs. Gatineau had four regulars drop like flies over the past two weeks and was listless during consecutive shutout losses to Val-d'Or and Drummondville. Coach-GM Benoît Groulx had cannily anticipated it and given his men a few days off heading into the weekend, to no apparent effect.

The losses leave Gatineau eighth overall, with five of its remaining six fixtures vs. the teams in the top half of the table. Ottawa Senators-drafted wing Vincent Dunn did come back midway through last week and the 'Piques expect to have a full deck vs. the Armada. It's the league's third-most penalized team, so avoiding digging an early hole with power-play goals against might be a good idea.

Canadian NHL team prospects

Frédérik Gauthier, Rimouski (No. 21 by Toronto Maple Leafs in '13) — Gauthier has seven goals and nine points over his last five games, although that a small sample; he's scored six times on his last 14 shots. But the big centre has been in the black during seven of his last eight games and his two-way play is a factor in his team's winning streak.

Zachary Fucale, Halifax (No. 36 by Montreal Canadiens in '13) — All Fucale is done in the past five weeks is post a 1.77 average and .926 save percentage while helping Halifax sew up its second Maritimes Division title in a row. There's really little to add here that isn't self-explanatory, other than to ponder whether he needs the fourth season of major junior he'll likely face thanks to the CHL-NHL agreement.

Jérémy Grégoire, Baie-Comeau (No. 186 by Montreal Canadiens in '13) — Grégoire had four goals and nine points across three Drakkar wins last week and was credited with three shots in each game. The late pick leads the Drakkar with 34 goals, including a team-high 14 on the power play. Also notable is that he's been able to take both centre and the wing, giving B-C some positional flexibility. (If that phrase sounds suspect, well, it is fantasy baseball draft season.)

WHL

Hot: Everett Silvertips

If the secret to happiness is staying busy and keeping expectations low, then well-done Everett. The 'Tips are on a six-game point streak (one shootout loss) that has given it a good chance to make good on its guarantee of finishing sixth in the Western Conference. Everett, which got goals from breakout 18-year-old Carson Stadnyk during its second and third wins of the week, has done what it has to do while playing the fifth-strongest schedule in the entire CHL, which is to stay that it's been trapping in the Kevin Constantine way and cashing in off turnovers. Twenty-six of its 29 games have been tied or one-goal apart during the third period, but it's lived on the margins.

Can Everett get higher than sixth? Goalie Austin Lotz thinks it is achievable, but the gang green has a tough closing schedule. Vaulting into fifth would mean that Everett and the Seattle Thunderbirds would have their first ever post-season meeting.

Not: Spokane Chiefs

There's the week's most obvious statistical juxtaposition: the Chiefs' Mitch Holmberg could finish as the Dub's only 50-goal man (maybe even 60), but successive shutout losses last weekend meant Spokane has been donuted in seven of its last 23 games. Everyone should be accountable, but the Chiefs' other reliable producers Mike Aviani (two goals in 20 games) and Adam Helewka (three goals in 16) are scuffling.

"We’re not a highly skilled team,” Spokane coach Don Nachbaur told the hometown Spokesman-Review. “We have to score and manufacture goals the good old-fashioned way with hard work.

The Chiefs are on the road this week due to their arena being used for the Washington state high school basketball championships. It doesn't take a Grantland writer to explain basketball is more popular stateside than in Canada, or maybe it does.

Canadian NHL team prospects

Dalton Thrower, Vancouver (No. 51 by Montreal Canadiens in '12) — Given all that Thrower dealt with early in life, it's almost heartbreaking to see the defenceman's junior days likely over after re-aggravating an ankle injury. There is still a lot of potential in Thrower to make it, humble opinion here, worth the Habs' while to keep him in their pipeline next season.

Jackson Houck and Brett Kulak, Vancouver (No. 94 by Edmonton Oilers in '13 & No. 105 by Calgary Flames in '12) — The Giants were swept in a home-and-home by Kelowna, but the teammates had assault charges dropped in exchange for performing community service. So there is that.

Eric Roy, Brandon (No. 141 by Calgary Flames in '13) — Roy had four points and was plus-5 over three games as Brandon strung together some strong results to firm up its playoff position. The 6-foot-3 defender has enjoyed a more productive second half for the Wheat Kings, whose offensive potency has kept them afloat while yielding 241 goals, which is the most of any WHL team currently in playoff position.

Greg Chase, Calgary (No. 188 by Edmonton Oilers in '13) — Seventh-rounders typically have a longer road toward signing a contract, but he keeps producing for Calgary with 76 points for the season and a counter in 12 of the last 16 games. The winger has had multi-assist games five times since Feb. 1, as he's meshed well with New York Rangers draft Adam Tambellini, among others.

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