Latest news with #Klapka
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Adam Klapka Scores First 2 IIHF Goals: ‘It's Something You Dream About'
Adam Klapka played his first IIHF World Championship game on Thursday against Hungary but his second game on Saturday was more memorable. The 24-year-old Calgary Flames winger recorded two goals and an assist in an 8-1 victory over Kazakhstan. He assisted on Jakub Flek's goal early in the second period to make it 2-0 but waited until the third period to score his goals. Before that, he missed a couple of point-blank chances. Advertisement 'Honestly, I was a little angry with myself,' he told the media after the game, according to 'When you're alone in the slot, you should score because it doesn't happen very often. I should convert these chances. But I'm glad I finally found a way to score.' Did he ever. A minute into the third period, he picked up the corner deep in his own zone and went end-to-end, beating five Kazakhs and splitting the defense along the way to give the Czechs a 5-0 lead. 'The defenseman hit my stick and the puck went up in the air,' he said about the finish. 'I wanted to bury it under (the goalie) and I found a hole between the legs, so I put it there.' Advertisement His second goal closed out the scoring in the final minute. 'Flíček (Flek) wanted to pass it to me and it hit a Kazakh stick, so again from the air, I just wanted to try to put it past the goalie, and fortunately I did,' Klapka described. Adam Klapka playing for the Calgary Flames in the 2024-25 season. © Sergei Belski-Imagn Images 'I really enjoyed it. It's something you dream about when you watch the World Championship at home.' Klapka wasn't the only Czech to record three points in the game. Captain Roman Červenka, a former Flame, recorded a hat trick. "I'm happy for him,' said Klapka. Roman is a professional and you can learn a lot from him. He's the first to enter the locker room and the last to leave. I like watching how he takes care of himself – it's inspiring. It's incredible to enjoy time with him like this and be right there.' Adam Klapka: 'I knew deep down that I would play in the NHL one day' Adam Klapka: 'I knew deep down that I would play in the NHL one day' At 6-foot-8 and 236 pounds, Adam Klapka is a hard guy to miss. But the Czech winger managed to fly under the radar for much of his amateur career and even in his early years as a pro. He never played in the U18 Worlds or the World Juniors, was never drafted by an NHL team and at age 21, split the season between the Bílí Tygři Liberec of the Czech Extraliga and HC Benátky nad Jizerou of the tier-two Chance Liga. Advertisement With injured Jakub Lauko due back into the lineup at some point and speculation about the addition of David Kämpf to the Czech team if the Toronto Maple Leafs get eliminated on Sunday, Klapka doesn't know if he'll get the chance to play any more games in this tournament, but he'll be ready if he does. 'It's up to the coaches,' he said. 'I tried to do my best in the two games I played. We'll see how it goes. I'll do what the coaches say and be ready for anything.' Czechs Eyeing Kämpf If Leafs Lose Game 7; Hertl Hurt Czechs Eyeing Kämpf If Leafs Lose Game 7; Hertl Hurt Czechia still has a free forward spot on its World Championship roster and the team is apparently eyeing David Kämpf in the event the Toronto Maple Leafs lose Game 7 of their Stanley Cup second-round playoff series to the Florida Panthers on Sunday.
National Post
29-04-2025
- Sport
- National Post
Another Calgary Flames player heading to world championship
If making the NHL was always Adam Klapka's hockey dream, representing his country was No. 2. Article content Article content Now, after a season that saw him playing on the Calgary Flames first line as they battled for a playoff spot right until the second-to-last game, Klapka's going to make a second dream come true, too. Article content On Tuesday morning, the Flames announced that Klapka will be joining the Czechia national team for the coming IIHF world championship. Article content 'It's a kid's dream for me, back home it's really big,' Klapka said at his exit interview last weekend. 'All the people watching it, all the pubs are full just watching hockey. For me, it was play in the NHL and then under it was playing for worlds. Article content 'If there was an opportunity for me, I would definitely go.' Article content That opportunity did come, and Klapka will now be joining his country's national team for the tournament, which runs from May 9-25 in Stockholm, Sweden, and Herning, Denmark. Article content It's a nice reward for a player who is coming off a breakthrough season in which he established himself as one of the more intriguing pieces of the Flames future. Article content The 6-foot-8, 235-pound winger always has had size, but had played in only six NHL games prior to this season. In 31 games with the Flames in 2024-25, though, he managed six goals and four assists, with three of those lamp-lighters and three of those helpers coming in the Flames' final eight games, when the stakes were at their highest. Article content It's expected that Flames head coach Ryan Huska will be joining Canada's staff, while Mikael Backlund and Rasmus Andersson will play for Sweden, MacKenzie Weegar will be a key part of the Canadian team and Sam Honzek will skate for the Slovakians. Dan Vladar will be joining Klapka on the Czechia team, too. Article content
Calgary Herald
29-04-2025
- Sport
- Calgary Herald
Another Calgary Flames player heading to world championship
If making the NHL was always Adam Klapka's hockey dream, representing his country was No. 2. Article content Article content Now, after a season that saw him playing on the Calgary Flames first line as they battled for a playoff spot right until the second-to-last game, Klapka's going to make a second dream come true, too. Article content On Tuesday morning, the Flames announced that Klapka will be joining the Czechia national team for the coming IIHF world championship. Article content Article content 'It's a kid's dream for me, back home it's really big,' Klapka said at his exit interview last weekend. 'All the people watching it, all the pubs are full just watching hockey. For me, it was play in the NHL and then under it was playing for worlds. Article content Article content 'If there was an opportunity for me, I would definitely go.' Article content That opportunity did come, and Klapka will now be joining his country's national team for the tournament, which runs from May 9-25 in Stockholm, Sweden, and Herning, Denmark. Article content It's a nice reward for a player who is coming off a breakthrough season in which he established himself as one of the more intriguing pieces of the Flames future. Article content The 6-foot-8, 235-pound winger always has had size, but had played in only six NHL games prior to this season. In 31 games with the Flames in 2024-25, though, he managed six goals and four assists, with three of those lamp-lighters and three of those helpers coming in the Flames' final eight games, when the stakes were at their highest. Article content It's expected that Flames head coach Ryan Huska will be joining Canada's staff, while Mikael Backlund and Rasmus Andersson will play for Sweden, MacKenzie Weegar will be a key part of the Canadian team and Sam Honzek will skate for the Slovakians. Dan Vladar will be joining Klapka on the Czechia team, too. Article content
Edmonton Journal
29-04-2025
- Sport
- Edmonton Journal
Another Calgary Flames player heading to world championship
Article content 'It's a kid's dream for me, back home it's really big,' Klapka said at his exit interview last weekend. 'All the people watching it, all the pubs are full just watching hockey. For me, it was play in the NHL and then under it was playing for worlds. 'If there was an opportunity for me, I would definitely go.' That opportunity did come, and Klapka will now be joining his country's national team for the tournament, which runs from May 9-25 in Stockholm, Sweden, and Herning, Denmark. It's a nice reward for a player who is coming off a breakthrough season in which he established himself as one of the more intriguing pieces of the Flames future. The 6-foot-8, 235-pound winger always has had size, but had played in only six NHL games prior to this season. In 31 games with the Flames in 2024-25, though, he managed six goals and four assists, with three of those lamp-lighters and three of those helpers coming in the Flames' final eight games, when the stakes were at their highest. It's expected that Flames head coach Ryan Huska will be joining Canada's staff, while Mikael Backlund and Rasmus Andersson will play for Sweden, MacKenzie Weegar will be a key part of the Canadian team and Sam Honzek will skate for the Slovakians. Dan Vladar will be joining Klapka on the Czechia team, too.
Calgary Herald
25-04-2025
- Sport
- Calgary Herald
After impressing with Flames, could playoffs be Adam Klapka's last stint in AHL?
Article content Adam Klapka is re-joining the Calgary Wranglers for the rest of the playoffs. Article content The question, though, is really whether this will be the last time we see the towering Czech winger in the minors. Article content 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. Article content '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.' Article content 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. Article content Article content 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. Article content Article content 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. Article content That, as much as the points, was what impressed Flames management. Article content '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. Article content '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.' Article content 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.
