Trenin gets Gatineau back on track, OHL's Rangers hit rough patch: CHL Hot & Cold

Now that he's no longer a rookie and has someone to play off him, Yakov Trenin is delivering as promised for the Gatineau Olympiques.

The 'Piques resurgence has come with their first-year import and Los Angeles Kings second-rounder Valentin Zykov, who missed a portion of the year due to hernia surgery, finding their form. It's made a team that was outside the Quebec League picture thanks to being a revolving door of players from four-plus months an intriguing wild-card factor.

Here is the weekly look at who is flowing and who is fraying entering the third-last week of regular-season play.

OHL

Hot: Niagara IceDogs

Pull those Marty Williamson vs. Stan Butler in the playoffs narratives out of the drawer, since the IceDogs' three-game win streak and past-10 record of 8-2-0-0 includes wins over potential first-round opponent North Bay. That's not to say the 'Dogs would be a favourite, but with New York Rangers-drafted defenceman Ryan Mantha chipping in from the blueline (three goals in the past four) and Dallas Stars-drafted goalie Brent Moran rebuilding his confidence after starting both those wins against the Battalion, they are looking like a dangerous playoff team.

North Bay's seven-game win over Niagara last spring was the first in seven tries for a Butler-coached team against a Williamson-guided squad in the playoffs.

Not: Kitchener Rangers

The Rangers had injuries on defence during an 0-2-0-1 week, but more tellingly, had several MIAs up front as they scored only two goals on 72 shots in their last 165 minutes of play. Arizona Coyotes second-rounder's Ryan MacInnis' three-goal week was a chimera, since none of the tallies came from sustained pressure.

Kitchener has proven game-stealer Jake Paterson in form and a docket this week of Windsor and Saginaw, which are tied for the last Western Conference playoff spot. It's not that hard to reverse their season-high five-game losing skid.

Canadian NHL team prospects

Sam Bennett, Kingston (No. 4 by Calgary in 2014) — Bennett had four points and was on the ice for 6-of-10 Fronts goals during his first two games back. Perhaps understandably, he and his team hit a point of diminishing returns during the last leg of a 3-in-4, where he ended up with zero points and a minus-4 in a loss to Peterborough. He will be impactful in Kingston's push to finish as high as sixth in its conference.

Jared McCann, Sault Ste. Marie (No. 24 by Vancouver in '14) — Scored in both 'Hounds games to extend his point streak 10. Only one of those has been a single-assist game.

Hunter Smith, Oshawa (No. 54 by Calgary in '14) — Smith had four points in a pair of Generals wins as they managed without several stars, including Michael Dal Colle (illness).

Jordan Subban, Belleville (No. 115 by Vancouver in '13) — Was named a star after a 1G-1A, +4 night during a Bulls win over first-place Oshawa, and had four points during a three-game week. The plus/minus is a throw-off, since Bulls goalie Charlie Graham was a saving grace with 51 saves in that 4-1 win.

Miles Liberati, North Bay (No. 195 by Vancouver in '13) — North Bay snapping back into form had a lot to do with Liberati tidying up his act, to the tune of seven points and plus-6 over the last four games. The seventh-rounder has helped the Battalion cope with an injury to another two-way defenceman, overage Brenden Miller.

QMJHL

Hot: Gatineau Olympiques

Eighteen-year-old Yakov Trenin has 14 points, while compatriot Valentin Zykov has a dozen during the Olympiques' eight-game point streak (7-0-0-1) that has catapulted them up into 15th overall. Gatineau rarely, read never, had its optimal lineup available before February, which was a major reason why it underachieved. However, as many Benoit Groulx-guided teams have over the years, it's rounding into form as a playoff sleeping. Goal-scoring goalie François Brassard has also furnished some last-line stability with a 2.56 average and .909 save percentage since Feb. 1.

Not: Charlottetown Islanders

The Islanders have lost three in a row, all within the Maritimes Division, to sink into a three-way tie for 12th overall entering a Monday night makeup game vs. the Moncton Wildcats. Charlottetown caught a Saint John team coming out of its own funk last Friday (losing 7-3) and then got Ivan Barbashev-ed during a Saturday game vs. those same 'Cats. The good news for Charlottetown is that it has redoubtable goaltending with Mason McDonald, plus it isn't ceding games in hand to any of the teams immediately above and below in the overall standings. Seventeen-year-old star Daniel Sprong was point-free in both games, so keep an eye on how he fares during a four-game week that includes contests against all the Maritimes teams sans for Saint John.

Canadian NHL team prospects

Jan Kostalek (No. 114 by Winnipeg in '13) — Unsigned fourth-rounder has 15 points (3G-12A) over 11 games and is quietly among the top-10 in defenceman scoring.

Vincent Dunn, Rimouski (No. 138 by Ottawa in '13) — The pesky forward had four points over two games and recorded 15 shots, his most in back-to-back games all season.

Jérémy Grégoire, Baie-Comeau (No. 176 by Montreal in '13) — Counted four points over a pair of Drakkar wins and is fourth in team scoring in spite of having missed more than half of the schedule due to wrist surgery.

WHL

Hot: Prince George Cougars

The Cougars knocked off some quality U.S. Division competition in their own barns, beating Seattle in overtime on a Jansen Harkins goal before eviscerating Everett 5-1 to run a win streak to three. The spurt, which has been buttressed by Ty Edmonds' ever-reliable goaltending and Jansen Harkins fostering opportunities for the likes of Chase Witala and Zach Pochiro, has lifted P.G. into the final B.C. Division playoff berth. The week ahead includes visit from two contenders in Calgary and Prince George (for two games), so Prince George will have earned it if it remains in a playoff position.

Harkins, with 57 assists across 61 games, is one shy from tying the single-season mark for a Prince George player.

Not: Vancouver Giants

Prince George's move into the playoff pack came at the expense of the Giants, whose 1-3-0-0 lull has left them outside the B.C. Division and wild-card picture. Vancouver has wanted for scoring all seaosn, but at least frontline forwards Carter Popoff (4G-4A in 11 February games) in and Jackson Houck (5G-3A in that span) have potential for a hot streak. Vancouver still has two games vs. the Kelowna Rockets left among its remaining 10, while Prince George has an easier closing schedule after this week.

Canadian NHL team prospects

Leon Draisaitl, Kelowna (No. 3 by Edmonton in '14) — Carries a five-game goal streak into the week, which means it's time for him to get back to accumulating some notches in the A column. He's still averaging an assist per game for the Rockets.

Nikita Scherbak, Everett (No. 26 by Montreal in '14) — Scored in 2-of-3 'Tips games last week and is two goals and four points from matching his '13-14 totals with Saskatoon, which came in what is generally regarded as a less daunting division.

Morgan Klimchuk, Brandon (No. 28 by Calgary in '13) — Notching five points over three games, and is now third on the loaded Wheat Kings with 61 on the season.

Nic Petan, Portland (No. 43 by Winnipeg in '13) — Wins the unofficial Reid Gow Award since 18 of his 19 points over 10 games in Februrary were of the assist variety. Hey, if you had Oliver Bjorkstrand as a right wing, you would pass for passing's sake, too.

Austin Carroll, Victoria (No. 184 by Calgary in '14) — Scored 12 points (7G-5A) over 10 February games and was not only on the scoresheet only twice.

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

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