'Special Moment For Me'

At 6-foot-8, you can’t miss him on the ice.

And now, Adam Klapka is trying to make the most of his first NHL call-up.

The 23-year-old Czech forward was recalled from the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers Thursday, joining his NHL mates at morning skate as the team prepared to host the Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Saddledome. Get tickets

It’s all a bit surreal for Klapka, to go from watching NHL hockey on TV to being thrust in front of a throng of local and national reporters inside the Flames dressing room.

“For me it’s pretty new, all that stuff, I just saw it on TV,” Klapka said. “When I was back home two years ago, I came to the rink, every time I (watched) highlights from the NHL, now I’m sitting with them in the locker-room.

“It’s a special moment for me.”

Special, too, for his family back in Prague, who no doubt will be up until the wee hours of the morning when he makes his eventual NHL debut.

Klapka says his parents and his girlfriend were two of his first phone calls after he received word from Wranglers brass that he was on his way up to The Show.

“It was really emotional for them, because they’ve (been) with me all the time when I was growing up and played hockey,” he recalled. “My dad woke up with me at 5 a.m. and took me to practice, went to my practice almost twice a week so it was really awesome for him; my girlfriend has been with me since I played hockey back home, so it was really emotional for everyone that I called.”

Klapka skated as the extra forward at Thursday’s morning skate, meaning a solo lap - and an NHL debut - will likely have to wait.

But make no mistake, there’s something about the hulking forward’s game that intrigues head coach Ryan Huska, who glowed about his new call-up’s work ethic and demeanour when holding court with the press Thursday morning.

“The one thing we feel like our fourth line has been missing over the last little while is some of that energy, some of the physical play, a little more size in the offensive zone,” Huska said. “I know the way Adam is, he’s all about the energy, he’s all about bringing a lot of excitement to the rink, and he’s been one guy that over the course of a couple of years, has really worked hard on his game, so he’s put himself in a position where he deserves this call-up, and we’ll see when he gets that opportunity.”

With Klapka’s imposing frame, physical prowess is bound to come naturally, but he says a lot of his focus recently has been on details and play-making in the offensive zone.

“My game is built to go to the net, and be around the net,” he said. “When the pucks are under me, sometimes it’s not easy for me to find them because of my size, but I worked on that with the Wranglers coaches after practice, almost every time, so I get better.”

The hard work has paid off at the AHL level, too.

Klapka’s up to 10 goals and 21 points in his 33 games with the Wranglers in 2023-24, just four points shy of the 25 he earned in his first North American pro season last winter.

Now, he’ll get to join former Wranglers mates Connor Zary and Martin Pospisil with the NHL club, and Klapka, like the rest of the city, has taken note of their seemingly seamless transition to the big club this season.

“It’s a big motivation for everyone down there,” Klapka said. “When you see that the guys (have) the success how they have, it’s awesome; all the guys are proud of them, they play big hockey here.

“It’s a big inspiration for everyone, everyone’s (working) hard to get a chance.”