Flames forward Adam Klapka moves up the rotation for Saturday’s game in Los Angeles

The first quarter of the Calgary Flames season has been filled with ups and downs. Some players have struggled, but some have really impressed.

One of the biggest bright spots this season has been the fourth line. The left wing slot has seen a rotation of players. The centre slot has been taken by first Martin Pospisil and then Jonathan Castagna. The right wing slot has been filled, for each of the first 19 games, by Adam Klapka.

But that will change on Saturday night against the Los Angeles Kings. As noted by QR Calgary’s Pat Steinberg during Friday’s practice, Klapka is moving up the rotation to play with Morgan Frost and Yegor Sharangovich. He’s effectively swapping spots with rookie Aydar Suniev, who skated on the fourth line with Castagna and William Strömgren.

After Friday’s practice at the Saddledome, Flames head coach Ryan Huska explained the rationale for the line shuffling.

“I think Morgan’s line’s plateaued a little bit over the last little while,” said Huska, via Flames TV. “And I think Adam, when you look at the whole body of work over the course of the year, has probably been one of our more consistent forwards. So he’s getting some power play time because he’s doing things the right way, and I think he deserves an opportunity to move up the lineup with how he’s played. The challenge is to make sure he stays with the style that he’s been playing and not getting away from it because his line mates have changed. And I think he’s at the point with the way his season’s gone so far that he recognizes how he has to play each and every game to be successful. And that shouldn’t change no matter what line you’re on.”

Klapka’s been on the fourth line pretty much all season. But that line has been consistently quite good, with Huska frequently praising them in his post-game remarks to the media. Klapka has averaged 11:04 per game in five-on-five ice time, but he’s near the top of the club’s leaderboard in five-on-five points (with five). Only Matt Coronato, Ryan Strome, Sharangovich and Frost have more five-on-five points than Klapka, and they all play way more than him per game.

Klapka joined the second power play unit off and on starting with the Flames’ Oct. 18 game against Carolina, and he scored a power play goal against the New York Rangers on Wednesday night.

A free agent signing out of Czechia, the 26-year-old Klapka has been with the Flames organization since 2022. He’s got great size and surprising speed for someone as big as he is, but he’s struggled so far in his pro career with consistency.

But through 19 games this season, Klapka has been really consistent, and he’s been rewarded on the scoresheet. He has seven points so far this season. Now, he’s getting rewarded with a bit more ice time. We’ll see if he can maintain that level of play as he moves up the depth chart.

The Flames kick off a three game road trip on Saturday night against the Kings.

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