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Standing at 6’7″, Adam Klapka was pretty hard to miss anytime he was on the ice last season. Whether that was for the Wranglers or the Flames. He took a huge stride in his second professional season and not only reached a large goal of making the NHL but also scored his first goal at that level.
The past
Adam Klapka was born in Prague, Czech Republic and played hockey locally for most of his pre-professional career. His first emergence into North American hockey was in 2019-20 when he joined the Tri-City Storm for eight games. In that time, he put up three goals and an assist. He played the next season with the Storm and put up 21 points in 49 games.
The next year, he played back in Czechia and represented his country on the international stage. Klapka was undrafted but still ended up on the Flames’ radar. He was signed to a two-year contract back in March of 2022 and played his first professional games in the Calgary Wranglers’ inaugural season.
In his first year in the AHL, he played 60 games with the Wranglers and put up 13 goals and 12 assists in the regular season. He also reached a personal high in PIMs with 80. In the 2023 playoffs, he put up four goals in nine games.
The present
Klapka emerged as an offensive force this season as the regular season and playoff scoring leader for the Wranglers. He ended up playing 65 games for the AHL affiliate in the regular season and made his debut at the NHL in early 2024 against the Edmonton Oilers. His first game was on January 20th and he skated on the fourth line with A.J. Greer and Adam Ruzicka.
He played a stretch of four games with the Flames towards the end of January then rejoined the Wranglers. His next chance at the NHL level was the last two games of the regular season on Apr. 16 and 18. His first point and goal at this level came in the last game of the year against the San Jose Sharks.
This catapulted a boost of confidence that Klapka took back to the AHL and built off of in the playoffs. He talked about that goal in his exit meeting mentioning how it became a positive point of reflection that carried him through the rest of his year. He said,
“To be honest, I watch it a couple of times a day when I don’t have my day or if I need some motivation. So every time I put it on my phone and watch it to help me get motivated. It was amazing. You know, it’s something you dream about since you play hockey. My goal was to play my first games in the NHL and hopefully score a goal. So I am happy I did it in one season.”
Klapka only ended up getting one point in the six games he played at the NHL level. For the Wranglers, he put up 21 goals and 25 assists through the regular season and over a point per game in playoffs with two goals and five assists in six games. He also broke his PIM record from 2022-23 and finished with 90 minutes in the regular season.
He acknowledged he is proud of the steps he took in his career this season but was still disappointed his team wasn’t able to win a championship and was instead knocked out of playoffs in the second round.
The future
Adam Klapka wrapped up his contract this year and is a restricted free agent this summer. Due to his considerable development last season and his ability to crack the Flames’ lineup for a handful of games, it seems almost like a done deal that he has earned a contract extension.
He is aware of what he needs to work on this off-season and the goal is to have a more regular spot at the NHL level. He took a couple of weeks off in May then was right back to work to keep up with the momentum he was running with this season. He said he plans to work on his skating and wants to fight for a spot with the Flames this fall.
