Though the majority of the Calgary Flames' plans for this season haven't panned out as hoped, the ascent of rookie Matthew Tkachuk isn't one of them.

Midway through 2016-17, Tkachuk sits tied for second on the list of Flames scorers, with his 29 points matching the totals put up by first-line duo Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau.

With 44 games under his belt, Tkachuk's scoring pace has him on track for 51 points by the season's end. If that sum sounds impressive for the 19-year-old, it should - and not simply because Tkachuk came into the season with few expecting him to do much damage.

Monahan, who served as the first piece in the Flames' recent rebuild, amassed only 34 points in his rookie season. Sam Bennett concluded his first year in similar fashion, posting 36 points.

Since the 80s, there have been only two first-year Flames players to reach the 50-point plateau - Gaudreau (64 points in 2015) and Jarome Iginla (50 points in 1997).

Not a bad pair for Tkachuk to potentially join.

In fact, if Tkachuk does continue on his current trajectory, his rookie campaign would rank as the 11th-best in Flames history. A top-10 all-time finish may even be within his reach if he can muster one more point and finish with at least 52 to his name.

It looks like Tkachuk has enough going for him to reach that mark. The young gun has been outstanding this season, meshing extraordinarily well with the other two parts of Calgary's 'Triple M' line - Mikael Backlund and Michael Frolik.

The trio have amassed 90 points thus far, and have posted the second-best possession metrics (an even-strength Corsi For percentage of 58) of all NHL linemates seeing consistent time together.

That being the case, all signs point to Tkachuk continuing his torrid pace, and joining some of the Flames' all-time best rookies along the way.

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