Heaps of Praise

HERNING, Denmark - The Flames aren't the only ones eagerly anticipating what Adam Klapka can be long term.

Turns out, his countrymen see big things in the 24-year-old, too.

Literally, of course.

But figuratively, too.

Klapka, who was officially added to the Czech roster on Wednesday at the 2025 IIHF World Championship, has caught the eye of his fellow citizens - both on the larger international ice and the more intimate confines of those National Hockey League dimensions.

"I think he proved himself, especially at the end of the year where he played on the top two lines and played a lot," said fellow Czech forward and Colorado Avalanche winger Martin Necas, who saw Klapka three times in the final two months of the docket, including a one goal, one assist, four-shot, seven hit performance on March 31. "I think for his size he skates really well.

"I'm happy for him. He's a good guy. He's a hardworking guy. He deserves it."

Klapka was a late-season revelation for a Flames club scrapping and clawing its way through the Western Conference playoff picture.

The 6-foot-8, 235-lb. right-shot force had 10 points (6G, 4A) in 30 games with Calgary this season, finishing off his NHL obligations on a four-goal, eight-point heater in what amounts to, far and away, the most productive stretch he's had with the big club.

"He's a very smart player," said David Pastrnak, the golden goal-getter at the 2024 World Championship and the netter of 391 lamp-lighters over 11 seasons and 756 career regular-season skates with the Boston Bruins. "He got to play in the top-six in Calgary. For his size he can be a huge help and obviously around the net he has quick hands for how big he is.

"He can finish."

The Czech can... um... check, too.

Just ask friendly Pacific Division foe Filip Hronek, who had to fend off Klapka in a late-season skirmish that served as the penultimate contest in Calgary's 2023-24 campaign, and again in each team's regular-season debut back on Oct. 9 - a four-hit affair for the man affectionately nicknamed 'Klapper.'

Chances are he prefers the Prague product in his own team's colours.

"He's big," Hronek put, bluntly. "That's the first impression of him. He's actually a pretty good skater. He's strong. He's a good player. I think you've got to play him smarter.

"I'm probably not going to outmuscle him in the corner, so you have to find a way somehow."

The man with the biggest body of work to evaluate, understandably, is the most complimentary.

There might be an inherent bias, too, but that won't necessarily stop stopper Dan Vladar for praising his current Czech teammate, and potential opponent next season.

Vladar saw, up close, the six skates Klapka spun as a rookie last year, a fourth-line audition that yielded one point, a goal, 19 minutes in penalties, and 21 hits in a total body of work that totalled just 40:34.

The 27-year-old netminder also observed the 31-game sample from 2024-25 -- including that final six-game showcase on the flank of top-liners Nazem Kadri and Jonathan Huberdeau.

"I mean, it's just great for him," said Vladar. "He probably never thought before this season that he was going to play, and he ended up playing 30 games and made it to the National team. Hat's off, for sure, to him. He's just such a humble guy and he works so hard.

"I think there is not one person who doesn't cheer for him. He deserves every single bit of it.

"I'm pretty sure he's just going to keep growing."