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
Junior
Klapka 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
Klapka 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]
Playing style
Klapka 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][9] 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][10][11]
Career statistics
| 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
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or The Internet Hockey Database