Elevate Klapka to 3rd line?

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by Paulie Walnuts

Or they could have kept Schwindt a RHS that they continue to tell the world they need every chance they get.

Have you bothered looking at what Schwindt has done in Vegas? He barely plays half the games, gets fourth-line minutes when he does, and hasn't scored a goal all season. That's not the RHS centre the team is looking for. They want one who can actually play regularly in the NHL.

Going into the season with Schwindt as your 4C would be like going on a long road trip with your temporary spare tire mounted.

But you gotta keep the 30 plus around.

You blame Huska because Rooney was re-signed?

Originally Posted by Paulie Walnuts

And you can go back and listen to Huskas comment about the 4th line he has had a vision and way it should be constructed.

Go back to where and listen to what? I'm not scouring the whole Internet for something you claim Huska said. Cite, please.

In any case – here's something you may not have grasped – coaches don't always tell the truth to the media. If Huska claims his fourth line is put together the way he wants it, he's BSing. Like every fourth line in the league, it's made up of players who are in the doghouse and whichever bottom forwards aren't injured at the moment. It changes from day to day.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Originally Posted by Jay Random

Have you bothered looking at what Schwindt has done in Vegas? He barely plays half the games, gets fourth-line minutes when he does, and hasn't scored a goal all season. That's not the RHS centre the team is looking for. They want one who can actually play regularly in the NHL.

Going into the season with Schwindt as your 4C would be like going on a long road trip with your temporary spare tire mounted.



You blame Huska because Rooney was re-signed?

He has the same ice time as Rooney and 3 less points 15 less games.

You don’t think coaches and GM discuss the roster ?

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by Paulie Walnuts

He has the same ice time as Rooney and 3 less points 15 less games.

And a shooting percentage of zero. He's not the answer to any of the team's problems. Even Vegas has been using him as a 13th forward, filling in at centre or RW when they need him – and the Knights were dumpster-diving for a cheap spare forward because they were capped out.

You don’t think coaches and GM discuss the roster ?

They do… and then the GM makes the decisions.

[FBI]

What a revelation Klapka has been.. He could be another BIG piece going forward. Protas baby!

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan

Oof...because he's way behind the play and ineffective for his 5 minutes of ice time. He had that one nice game because he was aggressive and anticipated plays well. Now he's back to his old ways, which are just too slow for the NHL level. He has the physical ability, but his brain doesn't process the game fast enough.

Yeah, I'm a ####ing idiot. Don't listen to anything I have to say ever.

[Enoch Root]

1 pt in his first 18 games this year, 8 in his last 12

7 in the last 9 games, tied for the team lead

and this wasn't some insane good luck heater like Kerins! had, he was a completely different player than he was earlier

[3thirty]

Nice to see him be a great complementary top 6 that can use his size to get pucks and open up the ice. Helps slot a more talented guy down the lineup to balance things up when we're thin on offensive talent.

[BaconGuy]

Amazing what happens when you crash the net hey? Most of his goals came 2 feet from the goalie using his size to make that key space

Nice little weapon priming up for next year

[Badgers Nose]

Another tip of the cap to our scouting dept for finding Klapka.

Really hope he has a strong 25/26 season. Seems like a great kid.

[CliffFletcher]

The nice thing about Klapka is he’s really positive and self-motivating. A lot of big guys have to be prodded into being aggressive and playing in the tough spaces. Klapka seems to enjoy it.

[FBI]

I see the secret wasn't to elevate him to the 3rd line but to elevate him to the FIRST line lol.. Good job coaches giving him a chance!

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

1 pt in his first 18 games this year, 8 in his last 12

7 in the last 9 games, tied for the team lead

and this wasn't some insane good luck heater like Kerins! had, he was a completely different player than he was earlier

It's almost like you need to give young players at least 20 games to actually figure out the NHL game and evolve.

And that skilled guys can actually play limited minutes on the 4th line and it will help their development in the long term.

[Roof-Daddy]

Hopefully he can build off of his strong finish and actually be a legit top 6 power forward, or at least a solid 3rd line power forward. Hopefully he doesn't just fizzle out into irrelevance like so many do.

[robertsfanatic]

the more heavy players we have that can take regular shifts the better.

[CSharp]

Klapka look great playing against the big VGK team! Definitely need more size and speed like him, especially on 3rd and 4th lines!

[midniteowl]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

1 pt in his first 18 games this year, 8 in his last 12

7 in the last 9 games, tied for the team lead

and this wasn't some insane good luck heater like Kerins! had, he was a completely different player than he was earlier

May be he rented the basement suite at Mr. Iginla's house?

[keratosis]

Originally Posted by midniteowl

May be he rented the basement suite at Mr. Iginla's house?

Long commute from Kelowna.

[Calgary4LIfe]

Goes to show you that not everyone's development is linear or has to be handled the same. Some players need a lot more time. Other players just need the patience to adjust to things at the NHL level. I think Klapka just kept being the best player to recall and finally started meeting Huska's bare-minimum demands. Once he got going, he just kept going. Hopefully he starts off next season where he finished this season.

[Sylvanfan]

Seems like the Flames have these older big bodied guys have a strong finish to the season every couple years. If Klapka goes on to play another 200 games as a Flame in any role that's a huge win. He acquitted himself quite well alongside Kadri and Huberdeau in a short sample size. I would not have predicted that a couple weeks back.

[midniteowl]

It almost seems like earlier in the season, he was afraid to use his size because he is afraid the refs might call penalty on him. But toward the end of the season and especially when he's playing with Hubey and Kadri, he's not afraid to hit people.