CALGARY – The goal was nice, as was the celly that followed.
But it was everything else Adam Klapka did on Saturday night that improved his status as a candidate to open on the Flames’ fourth line.
The competition is fierce, and the list of lads auditioning for the job is lengthy, but given how much the six-foot-eight, 235-pound Czechia winger stood out in a somewhat contentious affair against the rival Canucks, there’s plenty to like there.
And no one was more excited about Klapka’s latest showing than the only fixture on the energy line, Ryan Lomberg.
“He’s impressed me for sure,” said the Flames’ free agent signing out of Florida. following a 4-2 win in which he had a goal and an assist.
“I don’t even know how tall he is – however tall this ceiling is, just about.
“He can move, he can make plays, he can shoot, he’s physical.
“It’s exciting stuff for sure.
“He’s going to make my job real easy this year if he keeps hitting guys like that, for sure.”
Klapka’s first of a game-high five hits saw him crumple Nils Aman at the blueline with an open-ice beauty.
After battling all night long with six-foot-seven Vincent Desharnais, the 24-year-old Klapka really drew the ire of the Canucks early in the third when he sent Calgary native Akito Hirose into the boards awkwardly with a hard, clean hit a few feet from the wall.
It took several minutes for Hirose to get to his feet, and in the meantime, Mark Friedman dropped the gloves in a vain attempt to exact revenge on the big man.
Nothing doing.
As the leading scorer of the Wranglers last year with 21 goals and 46 points, perhaps no one should be surprised the man who scored his first NHL goal in the Flames finale last season is now tied with Matt Coronato for the team’s pre-season scoring lead with three.
But it was the type of mettle he showed that they’ll want from anyone tasked with playing on the fourth unit.
“I thought they were our best line tonight,” said Ryan Huska, who will soon have to pick between Jakob Pelletier, Dryden Hunt, Walker Duehr and possibly Matt Coronato or Sam Honzek as the man who will best compliment Lomberg and centre Kevin Rooney.
“They played a simple game and the first two goals of ours were based off their work on the forecheck.
“I think (Klapka) has grown up quite a bit in his understanding of what he needs to do to stay in the NHL.”
Throw that big body around, forecheck and keep the game simple.
Asked what he hopes to see from whatever bottom trio he forms, Huska smiled.
“Probably what we say tonight – a group of guys that have to be hard to play against,” said Huska of the group that finished a collective plus-6 in a 4-2 win.
“They have to make it uncomfortable on defencemen and I think they’re going to drag people into the game like they did tonight.”
A massive project when the undrafted right winger was signed two years ago, Klapka may just be ready to add to his six games of NHL experience.
Hunt has been impressive, Pelletier and Duehr have had quiet camps and Coronato and Honzek are better suited for roles in the top 9.
As a career mucker, Lomberg was asked what sort of advice he’d dish out to Klapka.
“Watch that tape and do it again.”
Standouts: Dan Vladar had another solid outing, stopping 17 of 19 shots over the first two periods before giving way to Devin Cooley, who stopped all 10 shots he faced … Sam Honzek had another impressive showing, batting all night long with Desharnais, who was penalized for two cheap shots on the 20-year-old Flames first-rounder. No sign of backing down from Honzek, who leads the team with six pre-season points. As unlikely as it was at the start of camp that Honzek could crack the opening roster, Huska said after the game “he’s gonna make it hard on us.” … Defenceman Brayden Pachal was solid once again in just 13 minutes of work, scoring once, adding an assist, and dishing out two hits to go with the eight blasts he had in his first game. Hard to imagine him not starting the season with the team.
Notes: The Flames sent six more players to the AHL Wranglers Saturday, including Parker Bell, Lucas Ciona, Joni Jurmo, Jaden Lipinski, Jeremie Poirier and William Stromgren. With three pre-season games left, the Flames now have four goalies, 14 defencemen, and 22 forwards for a total of 40 players at camp … Matt Coronato resumed skating Saturday after taking a few days off. Martin Pospisil and Jake Bean missed practice for the third straight day … The Flames put Jonathan Aspirot and Clark Bishop on waivers for the purpose of sending them to the Wranglers.
The Lines:
Huberdeau – Sharangovich – Mantha
Pelletier – Backlund – Coleman
Klapka – Rooney – Lomberg
Honzek – Zary – Frk
Weegar – Miromanov
Hanley – Andersson
Grushnikov – Pachal
Vladar
Cooley
