Adam Klapka: “I knew deep down that I would play in the NHL one day”

At 6-foot-8 and 236 pounds, Adam Klapka is a hard guy to miss. But the Czech winger managed to fly under the radar for much of his amateur career and even in his early years as a pro. He never played in the U18 Worlds or the World Juniors, was never drafted by an NHL team and at age 21, split the season between the Bílí Tygři Liberec of the Czech Extraliga and HC Benátky nad Jizerou of the tier-two Chance Liga.

But the Calgary Flames took a chance on him in the summer of 2022 and this past season, he broke out, scoring 21 goals and 46 points in 65 AHL games with the Calgary Wranglers, and then seven points in six playoff games. He earned two call-ups to the Flames during the season, scoring a goal in six games.

Recently, Klapka did a lengthy interview with hokej.cz’s Pavel Mundát, who touched on a number of topics, such as Klapka’s path to the NHL as an undrafted player. But he began by asking the 23-year-old if he’d gotten used to increased media attention.

“Honestly, yes,” Klapka replied. “I’m not saying it pushes my ego to the extreme, but I’m happy when someone calls to say they’d like to interview me. I have no problem answering questions – that’s part of our job.”

Playing in a Canadian NHL market must have been a crash course in dealing with the media.
“That’s true. Over there, journalists call players after every practise and game. I usually do about one interview a week there – you get used to it quickly. But I have to say that when I scored my first goal in the NHL, it was quite extreme. I’ve never had so many journalists stand around me before,” he smiled.

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Were you nervous?
“Not at all. As I said before, that’s a part of hockey life and every player has to learn to get along and work with the media.”

Do you consider yourself among the more talkative players?
“Not really. I’m not an extrovert, so it took me a while to learn how to communicate with the media. I learned to communicate with them faster in Czech – it was worse in English. But I think I’ve been fine since the second season in Calgary.”

Let’s turn to hockey. In an earlier interview, you described yourself as a classic power forward, but this year you also put up good offensive numbers in the AHL. Why did this season suit you so well in terms of points?
“When you’re growing up, I think every player should decide what style of hockey suits him best. Since I’m over two meters tall (6-foot-8), I was definitely more inclined to use my size. But at the same time, I've always liked to score and I’m glad that this year in Calgary I showed that I’m not just there for crashing and banging.”

The call-up to the Flames was, I suppose, the biggest reward for that.
“It was wonderful. Unreal feeling. I don’t think I'll ever forget that day.”

Were you aware of how big a moment it was before and during the game?
“Not really. The Wranglers play their games in the same rink as the Flames, so it was basically the same for me. I went to the game at the same time, went to the same dressing room. But then when I stepped on the ice, it clicked for a moment. I said to myself, ‘Wow, I'm here, I did it.’ Then when the game started, I switched to game mode and didn’t notice things around me. It wasn’t until I came home and watched the highlights that everything dawned on me.”

Did it help that you played on a line with Slovak Adam Ružička during your NHL debut?
“Definitely. He helped me a lot. He told me to enjoy the game and play with a clear head. He also emphasized not to stress. That encouraged me.”

What did you learn from playing games in the NHL?
“That I still have things to work on. My motto is that in order to stay in the NHL, I have to improve all the attributes of my game.”

Such as?
“The most? Probably skating.”

But for such a tall guy, your skating is solid, isn’t it? Even in the NHL, they praise you for your skating.
“But you know... with my height… Some flaws are still visible in me and I think I can be even faster in skating.”

So you’d say you’re a hard worker?
“I’ve always had to work harder than some of the others. For me, it was never about having a bunch of talent and being able to ride off that.”

What do you work on the most?
“To have strong legs and good stability. At the same time, we work on strengthening my core. These are things I’m even more into than last summer. The goal is for me to be as ready as possible for training camp and, if possible, to stay with the Flames once the season starts.”

Have you ever doubted yourself?
“Honestly, no. I knew deep down that I would play in the NHL one day, but I didn’t tell anyone about it and just worked hard. I’m happy with my path – I wouldn’t change it. Hopefully, my story will show other boys who don’t play for the national team at 18 or aren’t drafted that with training and hard work, they can achieve great things.”

But a lot of people didn’t think you could do it. Did you notice?
Honestly? When I was younger, I was really concerned with what other people thought of me. But now, I don’t care. I concentrate on myself and my game. Of course, sometimes it comes to me that so-and-so said that I wouldn’t even play in the Extraliga, but I take those words as motivation to work even harder.”