Adam Klapka (born September 14, 2000) is a Czech professional ice hockey right-wing currently playing for the Calgary Wranglers in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect to the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL).
| Adam Klapka | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Klapka with the Calgary Wranglers in 2023 | |||
| Born |
September 14, 2000 Prague, Czech Republic | ||
| Height | 6 ft 8 in (203 cm) | ||
| Weight | 236 lb (107 kg; 16 st 12 lb) | ||
| Position | Right Wing | ||
| Shoots | Right | ||
| NHL team (P) Cur. team |
Calgary Flames Calgary Wranglers (AHL) | ||
| NHL draft | Undrafted | ||
| Playing career | 2021–present | ||
Playing career
editJunior
editKlapka played two seasons of junior hockey with the Tri-City Storm of the USHL, where he was noted as a tough physical presence, and was regarded as having a goal-scoring touch.[1][2]
Professional
editKlapka began his professional career with the HC Bílí Tygři Liberec of the Czech Extraliga. He played one season with the club, splitting time between Tygři and their farm team, HC Benátky nad Jizerou of the Chance Liga.[2][3][4]
On May 16, 2022, the Calgary Flames signed Klapka to a two-year entry-level NHL contract.[2][5] Klapka would impress during the Flames training camp and pre-season games, being one of the last players cut, and was called the best prospect at the Flames pre-season rookie camp.[1][6] Klapka was assigned to the Flames top affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers of the AHL for the 2022–23 season. Klapka would initially struggle to score in the American League, only scoring three goals in the first half of the season, and spending most of his time on the fourth line.[7] However, Klapka would find his scoring touch towards the end of the season, scoring 10 goals in the final 26 games of the regular season, including his first career hat trick in the Wranglers home-ice finale.[7][8] Klapka's impressive performance towards the end of his rookie season continued into the 2023 Calder Cup playoffs, where he would score the series-clinching goal in the second round to eliminate the Abbotsford Canucks.[7]
On January 18, 2024, Klapka would be recalled to the Flames,[9] making his NHL debut on January 21, 2024, against the Edmonton Oilers.[10] Klapka appeared in four games with the team before being reassigned to the Wranglers on January 27, 2024.[11][12] Later in the season, on April 15, 2024, Klapka would again be recalled to the Flames for the final two games of the season,[13] scoring his first goal during the season finale against the San Jose Sharks on April 18, 2024.[14]
On August 12, 2024, Klapka signed a one-year, two-way contract extension with the Flames, worth $775,000 USD at the NHL level.[15]
Playing style
editKlapka is regarded for his impressive stature, standing at 6'8" (2.03m) and weighing in at 236 lbs (107 kg), potentially the largest player to ever play in the USHL.[2][16] Due to this, he has been noted as a significant physical presence in games, but also as having a goal scorers touch.[1][2][6][17][18]
Career statistics
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2017–18 | HC Slavia Praha | Czech.20 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | HC Benátky nad Jizerou | Czech.1 | 22 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | HC Benátky nad Jizerou | Czech.1 | 30 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Tri-City Storm | USHL | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Tri-City Storm | USHL | 49 | 12 | 9 | 21 | 73 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2021–22 | HC Bílí Tygři Liberec | ELH | 44 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 72 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 2021–22 | HC Benátky nad Jizerou | Czech.1 | 16 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 45 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL | 60 | 13 | 12 | 25 | 80 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 2023–24 | Calgary Wranglers | AHL | 65 | 21 | 25 | 46 | 90 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 10 | ||
| 2023–24 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
References
edit- ^ a b c Gilbertson, Wes (September 30, 2022). "Who is Adam Klapka? Introducing the Flames' training-camp surprise". Calgary Sun.
- ^ a b c d e Pankiw, Colton (May 17, 2022). "Flames Sign Free Agent Adam Klapka: Everything You Need to Know". The Hockey Writers.
- ^ "Tidigare Bili Tygri Liberec-spelaren klar för spel i Kanada". Hockey Sverige (in Swedish). May 17, 2022. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
- ^ "Adam Klapka". BÍLÍ TYGŘI LIBEREC (in Czech). Retrieved May 9, 2023.
- ^ Gould, Mike (May 16, 2022). "Calgary Flames sign Czech forward Adam Klapka to two-year contract". FlamesNation.
- ^ a b Francis, Eric (September 28, 2022). "Flames Takeaways: Adam Klapka continues to impress in loss to Kraken". Sportsnet.
- ^ a b c Gilbertson, Wes (May 7, 2023). "Adam Klapka coming up big for Wranglers in Calder Cup playoffs". National Post.
- ^ "Adam Klapka's first AHL hat-trick leads Wranglers past Silver Knights". Calgary Herald. March 31, 2023.
- ^ Austin, Daniel (January 18, 2024). "Flames get injection of size with Adam Klapka call-up". Calgary Herald. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
- ^ Gilbertson, Wes (January 20, 2024). "'I'm living my dream': Flames' call-up Adam Klapka completes climb to NHL". Calgary Herald. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
- ^ Austin, Daniel (March 10, 2024). "After first eye-opening call-up, Adam Klapka working tirelessly to earn another shot with Flames". Calgary Herald. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
- ^ "Pospisil Activated, Trio Assigned To Wranglers". Calgary Flames. January 27, 2024.
- ^ "Flames Recall Adam Klapka From Wranglers". Calgary Flames. April 15, 2024. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
- ^ Gilbertson, Wes (April 18, 2024). "Klapka scores, Weegar sets record as Flames conclude season with blowout win". Calgary Herald. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
- ^ Austin, Daniel (August 12, 2024). "Flames re-sign Adam Klapka, Yan Kuznetsov". Calgary Herald. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
- ^ "Storm Add Forward Adam Klapka to Roster". Tri-City Storm. January 31, 2020.
- ^ Gould, Mike (September 26, 2022). "A foot apart, Matthew Phillips and Adam Klapka are going head-to-head in camp competition". FlamesNation.
- ^ Francis, Eric (September 24, 2022). "Flames' Elias Lindholm adjusting to life without old linemates". Sportsnet.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database