Every month throughout the NHL season we’ll be updating you on the development of key Calgary Flames prospects with up-to-date stats, videos, analysis and scouting reports.

It’s been an exciting month to be a Flames fan.

Not only did the never-quit club climb its way out of the basement, they also rode a seven-game win streak deep into December until the Blues halted their momentum Saturday afternoon.

Since our last prospect report, up-and-down forward Markus Granlund has spent 10 games in the NHL. Will this be his last call-up?

Flames general manager Brad Treliving hopes so.

“He’s right there. He’s knocking on the door,” Treliving told the Calgary Herald. “Just talking to him, he knows it, too. Instead of just coming up and saying, ‘OK, I’m here. I hope nothing goes wrong.’ It (should be), ‘OK, I’m here and I’m going to wrestle away a spot. I want this to be the last call-up.”

The 22-year-old is on the final year of his three-year entry-level deal. He has plenty of upside, as evident in his team-leading points total with the Heat before getting the call to the Flames.

To start this month’s report, let’s check back in with a few of last month’s prospect report subjects…

Jon Gillies: G, Stockton Heat (AHL)

Drafted: Third round, 75th overall, 2012

Season to date: 7GP | 3-2-1 | 2.55 | .920

Gillies, the Flames’ biggest — and most promising — goaltending prospect hasn’t spent any time in the crease since re-injuring his hip during a game Nov. 6, and we won’t be seeing him back on the ice any time soon.

The 21-year-old will be out four-to-six months recovering from season-ending hip surgery — a procedure that, according to Gillies, was a long time coming.

“It’s an issue that started pretty much at the beginning of my sophomore year at college and found out what it was after my sophomore year,” Gillies told NHL.com prior to the procedure. “It’s been two-plus years trying to manage this injury. I think at a point, while it’s really unfortunate and I absolutely hate leaving teammates in the middle of the season, I think my body just said it’s time to get it done.”

Gillies noted that the surgery is not uncommon among goalies — especially those who play butterfly.

“I know that [Philadelphia Flyers prospect] Anthony Stolarz and Thatcher Demko are two of my very best friends and they’ve both had that procedure done and they’re both doing great,” Gillies said. “They said it’s nice to get better. I’m optimistic from that standpoint. I know that Dr. Byrd knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s done it a million times before. There’s no need to worry.”

Treliving echoed those remarks, adding that Nashville’s Pekka Rinne had a similar procedure also.

The surgery went well, according to the man himself, who posted this thumbs-up photo with the caption: “thank you very much for all of the messages and well wishes. surgery went great and it’s on to the road to recovery! (please ignore the rather loopy/intoxicated look I have on my face)”

A photo posted by Jon Gillies (@jgillies36) on Dec 9, 2015 at 11:10am PST

Emile Poirier: LW, Stockton Heat (AHL)

Drafted: First round, 22nd overall, 2013

Season to date: 17GP | 3G | 5A | 8P | -3

Poirier missed three games due to injury since our last prospect report, but he made a successful return to play on Dec. 10, scoring twice to propel the Heat to victory. It was his first multi-point game of the season.

Andrew Mangiapane: LW, Barrie Colts (OHL)

Drafted: Sixth round, 166th overall, 2015

Season to date: 23GP | 16G | 17A | 33P | +4

In case you’re wondering why the high-skill, high-scoring Mangiapane’s numbers have been at a standstill, the reason is that the 19-year-old was serving an eight-game suspension for a cross-check against an Owen Sound player in late November. He registered two assists in his return on Dec. 19.

Now, here are some other Flames prospects making waves lately…

Mark Jankowski: C, Providence College (NCAA)

Drafted: first round, 21st overall, 2012

Season to date: 15GP | 8G | 10A | 18P | -1

Flames fans might remember Mark Jankowsi for being the lanky, skinny work-in-progress Calgary drafted in the first round back in 2012.

Well, he’s not so lanky anymore.

Hovering at around 200 pounds, the 6-foot-3 centre continues to fill out and get stronger — and it shows on the ice.

Now in his senior year, Jankowski is having a breakout season at Providence College, which won the National Championship last year. He is currently second in team scoring and has shown significant improvement in his game, even recently being named Hockey East player of the week.

“He’s always had the vision, always had a great stick, but he’s growing up as a kid into a man. He came to us at 17 years old, 6-foot-3-and-a-half and 170 pounds, and there wasn’t a lot there,” coach Nate Leaman told the Calgary Sun, adding that he’s still going to put on another 20 pounds.

“He’s still taking steps. When he’s 220, he’s gonna be a bear, with his vision and his hands to go with that size. And I’ll tell you, he’s extremely reliable as a defensive player,” he said. “I really think he can do it all, and people will be really happy with him down the road.”

It’s been a long road of development since Jankowski, nephew of Hockey Canada’s director of player personnel Ryan Jankowski, heard his name called so early in the 2012 draft, and it likely won’t lead to the NHL straight out of college. A few years with the AHL Heat seems much more likely. Flames GM Brad Treliving is happy with what he sees, and is in no hurry to rush the centre to the big leagues.

“We feel we’ve got a real good relationship with this player. The plan is to have him signed at the end of the year,” Treliving told Prime Time Sports in late November, while also acknowledging that the centre is very much a part of the Flames’ core for the future. “The organization knew when they drafted him that this was going to be a longer term project with him. He’s having a terrific season on the top-ranked team and we look forward for him to be part of our organization moving forward.”

“Everyone develops in their own time, at their own pace, and to me, it was about my work ethic and how much better I was going to get every day,” Jankowski told the Calgary Sun. “I focused on that, and it really came into play at the end of last year, so when it came to the most important games, I was playing my best hockey.

“I knew if I kept my head on straight, worked my butt off in the weight room and on the ice, things would transpire from there.”

Mason McDonald: G, Charlottetown Islanders (QMJHL)

Drafted: second round, 34th overall, 2014

Season to date: 19GP | 7-12-0 | 3.47GAA | 0.893SV%

After an underwhelming season so far with the QMJHL’s Charlottetown Islanders, goaltender Mason McDonald has been handed a golden opportunity at the World Junior Hockey Championship.

McDonald, 19, was expected to battle for the top spot with OHL Barrie Colts netminder Mackenzie Blackwood, but an eight-game suspension for slashing will sideline Blackwood for Team Canada’s first two games and will most likely see McDonald thrust into the national spotlight to start the tournament.

Now in his second full campaign with the Islanders — he was traded to Charlottetown from Acadie-Bathurst in the middle of the 2013-14 season — McDonald hasn’t been having a great season. The first goaltender selected at the 2014 draft, McDonald is currently sitting on a 7-10-0 record with a 3.47 goals against average.

But, in the mindset that any successful goalie must learn to adopt, that’s already in the past.

“He doesn’t really ride the wave of emotions, so I don’t think he is going to be bothered by the hype,” Charlottetown coach Jim Hulton told The Toronto Sun. “He is a student of the game and has an analytic mindset. I think he will be in a bubble, so to speak, in terms of his focus and concentration on the job at hand.”

This won’t be the first time McDonald dons the Maple Leaf. He was named the top goaltender at the 2013-14 World Under-18 Championship.

Hulton’s advice to the young goalie?

“Forget what has happened here [this season], don’t worry about your numbers. You know in your heart you are a good goaltender.”

Barring any unexpected setbacks, McDonald will take to the international stage for Canada Dec. 26 against the United States.

Freddie Hamilton: RW, Stockton Heat (AHL)

Traded: From COL (Oct. 4, 2015); originally drafted by SJ (fifth round, 129th overall, 2010)

Season to date: 20GP | 6G | 8A | 14P | -3

It’s been a busy year for Freddie Hamilton, older brother of Flames’ defenceman Dougie Hamilton. The 23-year-old winger has been part of three different organizations in the span of eight months and is no doubt hoping this one sticks.

The Flames sent a conditional 2016 seventh-round pick to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for the pending RFA in October. (Hamilton’s stay in Colorado lasted just 17 games, after being dealt to the Avalanche by the Sharks in a trade deadline deal.)

While the landing of Freddie was a feel-good story considering the brotherly connection, that’s certainly not all it was. The elder Hamilton (Freddie is 533 days older than Dougie) is currently leading all Heat skaters in points and ranks second in goals, offering a solid two-way game that has quickly caught the attention — and earned the trust — of Heat head coach Ryan Huska.

Now, the motivation to once again suit up alongside his defenceman brother — the two won World Junior bronze at the 2012 tournament in (where else?) Alberta, and were teammates on the OHL’s Mississauga IceDogs — is at an all-time high.

Though he has yet to make his Flames debut, Hamilton suited up for both the Sharks and the Avalanche, and has one goal in 29 NHL games.

Brandon Hickey: D, Boston College (NCAA)

Drafted: third round, 64th overall, 2014

Season to date: 16GP | 5G | 2A | 7P | +4

Like McDonald, Brandon Hickey could be another Flames prospect to watch on Team Canada during the upcoming World Juniors. The 19-year-old defenceman was one of just two U.S. college players to get the call, and is now awaiting his fate as the final two blue-line cuts are made this weekend. (At the time of publishing, Hockey Canada had not yet posted the final roster.)

The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Boston University sophomore is an excellent skater and shot-blocker, and also boasts great hockey smarts — and it hasn’t gone unnoticed. The Alberta native has been impressing everyone who watches him — or plays with him, for that matter.

“He’s a great player. He’s smart. He understands the game. He skates well. He’s really well-conditioned, so he can play a lot,” former Boston College teammate Jack Eichel told the Calgary Sun, also noting Hickey’s powerful one-timer.

“It doesn’t matter how hard you pass it, where it is, he can one-time anything. It’s a skill not a lot of guys can do, and he’s really good at it.”

With 16 games under his belt this season, Hickey’s already on target for his best year yet with five goals and seven points. (He had six goals and 17 points in 41 games as a freshman.)

Hickey shows plenty of promise, and has even been stylistically compared to top-pairing defenceman T.J. Brodie. In the words of GM Treliving, “We think the sky’s the limit for this guy.”