The winger signed a two-year entry-level contract the club in May after spending the 2021-22 season with Bílí Tygři Liberec in his native Czechia, scoring 18 points in 44 games in the country's top league.
While his minor hockey days were spent within the Slava Praha system, Friday's game was far from his first stint on North American ice. He made the leap overseas at the tail-end of the 2019-20 season, skating in eight games with the Tri-City Storm in the USHL and then playing the 2020-21 campaign with them, putting up 21 points in 49 games.
That experience made the transition back to smaller ice seamless for the 22-year-old, which was evident in his play in the tournament opener on Friday. While he and his teammates were held off the scoresheet in the 3-0 setback to the Canucks, Klapka made quite the impression with his puck-handling abilities and his vision.
"The game is a little bit faster than in Europe so I have to think a little bit quicker. It was a good game from our side but if you don't score the goal, you can't win.
"I didn't have a problem because I played on the style of ice that you play here ... just the rink is a little bit smaller so everything is quicker. But nothing changed in my game when I came here."
Another reason the forward turned more than a few heads is his size.
Standing 6-foot-8, he's impossible to miss and when he parks himself in the front of the opposition's goaltender, defencemen are hard-pressed to move him out of the way.
"My space in front of the net, to be tough on the other guys from the other team," he said of his focus. "I think it's what I have to do because of my size - I haven't seen here anybody like me. My job is to protect my teammates and definitely play hard and do (a good) job in front of the net."
After Friday's showing, he was shuffled to a line with Jakob Pelletier and Cole Schwindt at this morning's skate in Penticton. The trio will likely see plenty of ice time against the Oilers rookies and all three have been mainstays on the power play during practices.
Check out all of the lines and pairings from the practice:
