DENVER — Tonight, at Ball Arena, Adam Klapka has family cheering him on.
His old billet family, from Kearney, Nebraska, that is.
That’s where Klapka got his first taste of North American hockey, skating for a season and a half with the USHL’s Tri-City Storm. And it’s where he developed a bond with the Parzych family, whom he lived with during his stint in the Cornhusker State.
Kearney’s a long way from Prague, where Klapka grew up, but when a chance encounter at the World Junior ‘A’ Challenge in Dawson Creek, B.C. of all places led to the opportunity to sign with the Storm, he couldn’t pass it up.
“We played against the U.S. team, and their coach (Anthony Noreen) was the head coach of the Tri-City Storm,” Klapka explained. “They reached out to me. They asked me if I wanted to go play, immediately I said 'Yes,' because, you know, it was something I wanted to try, a new experience.
“It was a good decision for me, it was the best one-and-a-half years of my life.”
But just what was going through Steph and Stan Parzych’s minds when they saw the now 6-foot-8 Klapka show up on their doorstep as a hulking 19-year-old?
“I saw him get out of the car, I looked up, and I wanted to yell at Steph and say, ‘Call the hockey team, 'cause I think they sent us a basketball player!’” Stan chuckled.
But right off the hop, he fit in. It helped that the Parzychs have a son, Jordan, whose was born three days apart from Klapka. But as they’ve done for more than 20 years - and close to 30 Storm players - the Parzych family made Klapka one of their own.
“I was so lucky that I get the nicest family I could,” Klapka recalled. “They are the best I could get, I think. I spoke English, but it wasn't perfect. And, you know, they had patience with me.
"They spent so much time with me, and had patience with me to get used to the American culture. I couldn't get better billets. I'm so happy that I'm still in touch with them and they can now come to see me play in the NHL.”
That American culture included American snacks. Klapka discovered Twinkies for the first time - referring to them as the treats that survived the apocalypse in the movie Zombieland. And Steph estimates the family went through between five to six gallons of chocolate milk per week.
“One time at Thanksgiving, I made a bunch of stuff, and I had desserts and stuff, he looked at Stan and said, ‘Stan, me have?’ Steph recounted. “Stan's like, ‘Sure.’”
“There's an actual cheesecake on the stove,” Stan interjected. “And then I heard her, like, ‘Adam!’ He took the whole cake, and a gallon of chocolate milk, and went to the table. He was just chowing down. He would have eaten the whole cake!”
Beyond the laughs, there’s a real bond between Klapka and the Parzychs. Which is why the family has made the five-hour drive to Colorado whenever Klapka’s played here, be it with the Flames or against the AHL’s Eagles up the road in Loveland.
Of all the kids they’ve billeted, Klapka’s the first one to make it to the NHL, and Stan and Steph couldn’t be prouder.
“He's worked so hard. I mean even before he got signed, he was working so hard at home,” Steph said.
“When he left our house, he was going back to the Czech Republic. He couldn't go to college ‘cause he’d already played pro over there,” Stan added. "And then he went home and called, he had a picture of the Calgary emblem.
“Next thing you know, he was in Calgary.”
And now, five years on from his time in Nebraska, Klapka’s happy reunions with his old billet family clearly mean the world to him.
The Parzychs were a big part of his hockey journey, one he’s happy to share.
“I don't want to be that guy who gets to the NHL and forgets about everyone who helps him get there,” said Klapka. “So I every time I have a chance, I invite them to see me and spend some time with them.
“It's amazing, and I'm happy I can give back somehow, you know, the way they they took care of me before.”
