A pair of "exceptional" junior hockey players will join forces for Ontario when the 2013 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge is held in Victoriaville and Drummondville, Quebec.

The 10-team tournament, scheduled Dec. 29, 2012, through Jan. 4, 2013, features five clubs from Canada, along with teams from the United States, Finland, Russia, Slovakia and Sweden. A total of 18 players who had at one time participated in the 2012 World U-17 Hockey Challenge were selected in the first round of the 2012 NHL Draft in Pittsburgh last June.

Highlighting Ontario's roster are 2014 draft-eligible defenseman Aaron Ekblad of the Ontario Hockey League's Barrie Colts and 2015 draft prospect Connor McDavid of the OHL's Erie Otters. Both players were granted exceptional player status by Hockey Canada to be eligible for their respective OHL Priority Selection drafts. Ekblad was promptly drafted No. 1 by the Colts in 2011 and McDavid was chosen first by the Otters in 2012.

Each Monday, NHL.com will take a look back at the weekend that was in the American Hockey League with an emphasis on the young stars and top prospects that are continuing their development. Here are some of the highlights from the past few days in the AHL:

FRIDAY

FIRST STAR

Andy Miele, Portland

Miele had four assists to help the Pirates fend off Springfield in overtime. The Falcons led 4-1 at one point, but Miele had the primary assist on three straight goals to level the score and again on Oliver Ekman-Larsson's winner in the extra session. Miele, the 2011 Hobey Baker Award winner, signed as an undrafted free agent with Phoenix in April of last year. He is now second on the Pirates with 16 points in 18 games.

After the Edmonton Oilers won their first Stanley Cup in the spring of 1984, NHL fans had one question for Wayne Gretzky and his high-scoring teammates entering the 1984-85 season: Can you do it again?

The Oilers seemed well on their way after rolling to a 6-3 win over the visiting Minnesota North Stars on Dec. 7. It was the club’s eighth straight victory and upped its record to a super impressive 20-3-3.

Gretzky and Co. reeled off another eight-game winning streak in late January/early February. At that point, the Oilers were full-steam ahead at a sensational 38-9-6.

Down the stretch, however, Edmonton stumbled a bit, finishing the regular season with a mediocre 6-7-4 mark in its last 17 games.

Once the Stanley Cup Playoffs started, however, the Oilers got their championship act together, losing three games en route to their second championship.

The '84-85 season also marked the arrival of a potential scoring rival for Gretzky. Pittsburgh Penguins rookie Mario Lemieux seemed to have the rare combination of super size and sensational skill to someday challenge the Great One’s lock on the Art Ross Trophy.

In our sixth installment of the NHL in the 1980s, I’ll examine the stories and topics that dominated the headlines during the '84-85 campaign.