The Barrie Colts will face the hottest and the coldest teams in the Ontario Hockey League this week.
The Sudbury Wolves, who are riding a six-game winning streak, will visit the Barrie Molson Centre on Thursday, while the North Bay Battalion, who are on a seven-game skid, will be in town Saturday night.
The Colts then head up to North Bay for a Sunday afternoon matinee to finish up the home-and-home.
On Thursday night, one of the league's brightest young stars comes to the BMC in the form of Newmarket native Quinton Byfield. The 16-year-old former first-overall pick has 10 goals and 13 assists in 25 games this season.
Sudbury's lineup also features some local flavour, including Macauley Carson, a 19-year-old Midhurst native, and Isaak Phillips, a rookie defenceman from Barrie.
The Wolves (19-8-1-1) sit in second place in the Eastern Conference, while the Colts (15-14-1) have slipped to eighth. Barrie has five wins and five losses in its last 10 games, but sits only one point back of the seventh-place Hamilton Bulldogs.
Game time on Thursday night is 7:30 p.m.
On Saturday, the ninth-place Battalion (11-18-1-1), who sit seven points back of the Colts, will look to make up some ground on Barrie in the standings.
North Bay is led offensively by fourth-year winger Justin Brazeau, who's tied for third in OHL scoring with 26 goals and 27 assists.
The Colts then travel north to face the Troops again in a 2 p.m. start on Sunday at North Bay Memorial Gardens.
Following this weekend's slate of game, the Colts will have a 12-day holiday break.
A pair of Barrie players could still be playing some spirited games, however.
Defenceman Joey Keane (USA) and forward Matej Pekar (Czech Republic) have both been invited to the selection camps for their respective countries ahead of the upcoming IIHF world junior championship, being held Dec. 26 to Jan. 5, 2019 in Vancouver and Victoria, B.C.
Keane, a New York Rangers prospect, will be among the 29 players battling for 23 spots on the American roster at selection camp in Everett, Wash., beginning on Saturday. Team USA will include five players returning from last year's bronze-medal squad.
Pekar, a Buffalo Sabres prospect, has managed more than a point-a-game this season with the Colts in his first season in the OHL. The 18-year-old has 12 goals and 21 assists in 30 games.
The Czechs will open the world junior tournament in Vancouver on Boxing Day against Switzerland, while Canada takes on Denmark later in the day. Team USA faces Slovakia in Victoria to start the tournament.
The Canadians and Czechs will play on Dec. 29.
Canada and the USA do not play in the preliminary round this year.
