Adam Klapka was quite hard to miss anytime he was on the ice last season. Whether that was for the Wranglers or the Flames.
He took a significant jump in his second professional season and not only fulfilled a large objective of entering the NHL but also scored his first goal at that level.
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 level. Klapka was undrafted but nonetheless wound 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’ first 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.
Klapka emerged as an offensive powerhouse 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 in the NHL in early 2024 against the Edmonton Oilers. His first game came 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 near 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 surge of confidence that Klapka brought back to the AHL and built off of in the playoffs. He talked about the ambition 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 inspired.
It was great. You know, it’s something you dream about since you play hockey. My goal was to play my first games in the NHL and possibly score a goal. So I am delighted I did it in one season.”
Klapka only ended up collecting 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 stated he is proud of the achievements he accomplished in his career this season but was still sad his team wasn’t able to win a title and was instead pushed out of playoffs in the second round.
Adam Klapka wrapped up his contract this year and is a restricted free agent this summer. Due to his substantial growth last season and his ability to crack the Flames’ lineup for a number of games, it appears almost like a done deal that he has earned a contract extension.
He is conscious 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 stated he expects to concentrate on his skating and wants to battle for a spot with the Flames this fall.
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