Adam Klapka is heading back to the AHL.
With Sam Honzek set to return to the Calgary Flames lineup for Wednesday night’s game against the Utah Hockey Club, the Flames chose to reassign their towering winger for another stint with the Calgary Wranglers.
The 6-foot-8, 235 lbs. winger was the lone waiver-exempt option the Flames had on their roster, so he was always the most likely candidate to be sent to the AHL.
The 24-year-old has appeared in five of the Flames’ nine games so far this season and hasn’t recorded a point, although he’s made his physical presence known and is second on the team in hits-per-60-minutes, with 25.56, behind Kevin Rooney.
Honzek has missed the Flames’ last five games after suffering an upper-body injury against the Chicago Blackhawks on Oct. 15. He also hasn’t recorded a point so far in the regular season, but the 19-year-old earned a place on the roster after a terrific training camp and pre-season that saw him lead the team in points, with seven.
The Flames’ first-round pick, 16th overall, in the 2023 NHL Draft was skating on a line with Mikael Backlund — who was set to play in his 1,000th game — and Blake Coleman at Wednesday’s morning skate ahead of the game against Utah.
The move to send Klapka down to the Wranglers comes only a couple days after the Flames did something similar with Matthew Coronato, who was returned to the AHL when Yegor Sharangovich was ready to play after returning from a pre-season injury.
Last year with the Wranglers, Klapka scored 21 goals and added 25 assists in 65 games.