After impressing with Flames, could playoffs be Adam Klapka's last stint in AHL?
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Adam Klapka is re-joining the Calgary Wranglers for the rest of the playoffs.
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The question, though, is really whether this will be the last time we see the towering Czech winger in the minors.
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Is his time in the AHL coming to an end? After impressing down the stretch with the Calgary Flames to the point where he earned himself first-line minutes alongside Nazem Kadri in pivotal, must-win games, it sort of feels like he has established himself as a full-time NHLer.
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'I had that expectation before this season, too,' Klapka said on exit day. 'When I signed the contract (last August), I wanted to be in the NHL. Of course, it takes some time, but for me, next year being full-time in the NHL is my goal and I'm going to do everything I can to be here all year.'
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There's every reason to expect Klapka to be with the Flames from the start of the regular season in 2025-26. His play down the stretch removed any suspense about whether he'd be in the lineup on a night-to-night basis this season and saw him upgraded from a fourth-liner to playing top-trio minutes.
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And after playing in only six games in 2023-24, he appeared in 31 contests this past season, scoring six times and adding four assists. Those numbers aren't exactly staggering, but the way he improved as the season went on was notable.
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In the Flames final eight games, Klapka stepped up his offensive production, scoring three times and adding three assists while continuing to use his enormous 6-foot-8, 235-pound frame to win puck battles and throw hits.
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That, as much as the points, was what impressed Flames management.
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'It shows me he can do it,' Flames GM Craig Conroy said. 'There's more to Adam. The one thing I was worried about when he got onto that top-line was 'Oh, is he going to want to finish checks and do the little things that got him to move up there?' because he does have skill and he's got a nice shot.
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'It's a nice thing to have, when you don't have to go find that in free agency and you've kind of home-grown it.'
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That definitely sounds like the Flames are anticipating Klapka being a roster regular next season, right? An undrafted free-agent who signed with the Flames in 2022, Klapka has improved every season with the Wranglers and now looks like he's set to graduate.
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