Barrie Colts, Saint John Sea Dogs having December to remember: CHL Hot & Cold

That first week in December can go a long way toward determining the course of a club's season.

It is the last week where all hands are on deck before the exodus of world junior-calibre talent, all happening while general managers decide whether there's a realistic chance of a payoff if they load up for a playoff run. It's all a process, of course, but a streak at the start of December can be a portent that a team is for real.

Here is the weekly look at who is flowing and who is ebbing entering the peultimate week before the Canadian Hockey League holiday break.

OHL

Hot: Barrie Colts

Exactly one month ago Monday, the Colts were blown out 8-3 in Sault Ste. Marie with 16-year-old ninth-round selection Ruan Badenhorst being something of a sacrificial lamb in goal. Eighteen-year-old goalie Mackenzie Blackwood returned from an ankle injury for their next contest and Barrie (.556 point pct., fourth-best in the Eastern Conference) have since won 6-of-9.

It hasn't been as simple as 'add Blackwood and stir.' Barrie also got to rest up during a stretch where it played only once in 13 days. Moreover, as it does seemingly every year, the Colts have found a good blend between their linchpins and seemingly bottomless cast of chipper-inners. Overage captain Joseph Blandisi, 19-year-old San Jose Sharks selection Kevin Labanc and Buffalo Sabres high second-rounder Brendan Lemieux are each fulfilling expectations; 19-year-old Justin Scott, who has 13 goals in 27 games after getting 11 in 116 across his first two seasons. Michael Webster and C.J. Garcia are also nicely filling their niches as the two-way defencemen you would swear have been in the OHL for six or seven years.

Beginning Saturday, the Colts have five games in eight days to complete their pre-Christmas schedule. They start the second half with five in seven. That might cause a drop-off as they try to chase down North Bay for a No. 2 playoff seed.

Not: Kitchener Rangers

The Rangers (.593 point pct., fifth-best in the West) are "in a free fall" after losing both ends of a home-and-home with Owen Sound to fall into a 1-5-0-0 rut. The hot start might have masked that Kitchener, Justin Bailey excepted, is a youngish team that is short on 19-year-old scoring. One auspicious sign in the Tri-Cities is that Colorado Avalanche second-rounder Nick Magyar scored his first goals in four weeks during the second loss to Owen Sound. That also broke an 0-for-35 outage for the power play.

The next month should be a good period for 18-year-olds such as Magyar, centre Ryan MacInnis and wing Darby Llewellyn to grab some more rope. Unlike past seasons, the Rangers don't have a world junior player, which might help with getting back on track.

Canadian NHL team prospects

Carter Verhaeghe, Niagara (No. 82 by Toronto Maple Leafs in 2013) — Verhaeghe has 10 points in his last six games and looks like one of the steadier performers for the consistently inconsistent IceDogs, who had an 0-3 week. His upswing predated the return of linemate and Arizona Coyotes first-rounder Brendan Perlini, who has scored in each of his three games.

Jimmy Lodge, Mississauga (No. 84 by Winnipeg Jets in '13) — Lodge has 10 points over eight games with the Steelheads, who are 5-3-0-0 and have averaged a shade fewer than four goals per game since the 19-year-old centre came east from Saginaw.

Kyle Platzer, Owen Sound (No. 96 by Edmonton Oilers in '13) — The waterbug from Waterloo scored his first major junior hat trick against his hometown Kitchener Rangers in a win on Saturday. Platzer's eight points over the course of three divisional wins that might be a proof the Attack should be more of a buyer than a seller over the next month.

Tobias Lindberg, Oshawa (No. 102 by Ottawa Senators in '14) — The 19-year-old wing showed off some power moves over the weekend while helping Oshawa sweep and move into first overall ahead of the Erie Otters. Lindberg had six points during the Gennies' 3-0 week.

Ben Harpur, Guelph (No. 108 by Ottawa in '13) — The Storm had a 3-0 week before losing major components to world junior camps. Harpur was plus-6 with three assists from his defence spot. That'll play in Binghamton next winter.

Evan McEneny, Kingston (free agent signing, Vancouver Canucks) — The overage helped Kingston win back-to-back home games, including a taut 3-2 shootout decision over Niagara on Saturday. McEneny got his first goal of the season (first for any Frontenacs defenceman all season) and converted in the shootout.

QMJHL

Hot: Saint John Sea Dogs

While rival Moncton was taking on short-term pain for an anticipated long-term gain by moving Vladimir Tkachev to Quebec, the Sea Dogs swept their week and now lead the Q with a .717 point percentage. Saint John has a nice balance, inasmuch as the top three centres Nathan Noel, Mark Tremaine and Samuel Dove-McFalls each have been 17 and 25 points. No Sea Dog has cracked the 30-point mark, but 10 of Ross Yates' charges have at least 15 and franchise defenceman Luke Green would be the 11th if not for the time he was away at the world under-17 challenge. The latter's highlight goal in Halifax also marked the first Green-from-Green goal, since his twin Matthew had the secondary helper.

Saint John's Darrell Young ought to be named the league's top executive. The Sea Dogs were really supposed to be two seasons away from their peak.

Not: Sherbrooke Phoenix

The Phoenix (.583 point pct., eighth overall) had a "weekend to forget," getting just a regulation tie against Rimouski to show for their week. The upshot is that Sherbrooke showed signs of life during a fractious final period against Drummondville (it was already down six-zip at that point, granted) and followed it up by taking red-hot Chicoutimi to the wire in a 3-1 home loss on Sunday. The week could cost the Phoenix, who only have one more week with leading scorers Kay Schweri and Tim Wieser before they're embedded with Team Switzerland for the WJC.

Canadian NHL team prospects

Frédérik Gauthier, Rimouski (No. 21 by Toronto in '13) — The defensive specialist will head to Team Canada's camp wearing the braid of a six-game point streak with the Océanic. Gauthier's also been in the black on faceoffs in 10-of-14 games on the season.

Marc-Olivier Roy, Quebec (No. 56 by Edmonton in '13) — The overage returned after being out for a week to put up seven points (5G-2A), although the Remparts ended up even for the week. It's a promising sign for someone whose production has run hot and cold since the Oilers gambled on him.

WHL

Hot: Calgary Hitmen

Calgary (.597 point pct., second in the Central) has been a handful, scoring 32 goals over a stretch where it has won 4-of-5. It's too glib to say that's what should be happening with their talent, but Calgary has three good-sized overage forwards (Connor Rankin, Adam Tambellini and Kenton Helgesen, now that's he's no longer a defenceman), two Team Canada aspirants (Travis Sanheim and Jake Virtanen) and their imports who have been in the league long enough to be acclimatized. Radel Fazleev now has 68 Dub games under his belt, albeit it spread over a season and a half due to an injury that cost him the last three months last season. Rookie import Pavel Karnaukhov also chipped in successive two-assist games last weekend.

Calgary's next challenge, of course, is carrying on while Sanheim, Virtanen and Karnaukhov, who plays for Belarus, are away on international duty.

Not: Spokane Chiefs

The Chiefs (.534 point pct., fourth in the U.S.) are finding it tough to live on the margins during their five-game losing streak. They arguably only played badly in their most recent loss (4-1 to Seattle on Sunday) and were just struck with bad puck luck in the other four. That's the lot of a team that isn't overrun with high-end skill; the next few weeks will go a long way toward deciding how Spokane, which has one off the league's most intriguing 16-year-old newcomers in Kailer Yamamoto, approaches the trade deadline.

Canadian NHL team prospects

Jake Virtanen, Calgary (No. 6 by Vancouver in '14) — Maybe you had to be there, but it seems odd that Virtanen didn't have a point in a game where the Hitmen scored nine goals. However, he's had three two-point efforts in the last four, including a two-assist game in a big rivalry win over Edmonton.

Nikita Scherbak, Everett (No. 26 by Montreal in '14) — A seven-point week, with at least two in each of Everett's games, moved the Russian striker into 12th in Dub scoring.

Tim Bozon, Kootenay (No. 64 by Montreal in '12) — The comeback kid, with four points over three games, is now up to 12 goals and 23 points across 16 games. Words really don't do justice to how afffirming it is to see Bozon, after his near-fatal case of meningitis, is playing and scoring again.

Jackson Houck, Vancouver (No. 94 by Edmonton in '13) — Houck lifted the Giants up by getting four points (3G-1A) over a pair of 3-2 victories last week, including one over the Portland Winterhawks. His showing also included getting the decider during a shootout win over Saskatoon.

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