The Calgary Flames have made another roster transaction. With a few changes in all three positions due to injuries or changes of scenery, the latest move after the Flames waived Walker Duehr was mirrored by a re-call for forward Adam Klapka.
In tandem with the Klapka announcement, the Flames officially updated Dennis Gilbert’s status with a retroactive IR assignment.
Klapka’s development
Klapka signed with the Calgary Flames back on May 16, 2022 as an undrafted forward. Prior to joining the club, the 6’8″ forward was playing in Czechia across various leagues as well as in the USHL, all of which aligned with his age and skill level.
Since the Flames found him, he has steadily developed as an AHLer, posting 13 goals and 12 assists in 60 games in his rookie season with the Calgary Wranglers. In his sophomore AHL season, he’s pacing at nearly double the production he has 10 goals and 11 assists in just 33 games.
He’s been a fiery player this season as well, picking up 80 penalty minutes with some pretty heavy fights throughout the season.
Klapka’s development as a key player on the Wranglers over the past two seasons combined with his very strong training camp performance back in the preseason has earned him a callup now. With certainty, his size will factor into him slotting into the lineup as having a giant on the fourth line could make it a whole lot grittier and give energy to a line that’s fizzled out a bit as of late.
We’ll see how often Klapka slots into the lineup over the coming games, but I’d expect him to at least get a couple of reps purely due to the fourth line needing a change-up.
Congratulations on the re-call to Klapka!
