Thomas Klassek commits to RPI
The '05 defenseman adds another good puck mover to the blue line
Back in February, RPI picked up a commitment from ‘05 defenseman Thomas Klassek. Klassek. Klassek is a left-shot listed at 6’0” and 183 LBs, and he’s from Austria, where he has played his entire life. Coach Mathias Lange no doubt played a big role in his recruitment as a fellow Austrian who coached him for their U20 national team. We held off on doing this recruit profile for awhile because we wanted to make sure that he was still committed after the coaching change, but that has now been confirmed by
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Klassek has played for the EC-KAC club team in Austria for as far back as his eliteprospects page goes. He played for their U17 and U18 teams starting as a teenager and stuck with them as he progressed through the levels. This year, he played for both their U20 team and their professional team in the ICEHL. With the EC-KAC U20 team, Klassek had 9 goals, 29 assists, and 38 points in only 26 games, and he also had a whopping +43 rating. It’s worth noting that the Austrian U20 league is extremely weak; most of Austria’s top young players play in either the AlpsHL or ICEHL. However, he totally dominated all year and was one of the best players in the league.
Klassek also played many professional games this year with EC-KAC. He had no points in 18 regular season games while playing a depth role with very few minutes, and he also appeared in 9 playoff games for them. He had also played some professional games in previous years, totaling 25 regular season games and 10 playoff games the last 3 years. Even appearing in pro games at all is very impressive for his age. With past NCAA rules, this would have made him ineligible. However, due to the CHL rule change, players are allowed to appear in pro games as long as they haven’t signed a contract with the team, and they don’t receive more than just necessary living expenses. Playing against such tough competition should help him transition well to the NCAA.
Klassek is a veteran for the Austrian national team with 2 appearances for the U18 team and 2 appearances for the U20 team. This year, he was the captain of the U20 team, which you can read about in this great interview with him on his leadership mentality. He had an excellent tournament for them with 4 points in 5 games and a +5 rating, which led them to a silver medal at the D1A level. In fact, his +5 rating led all defensemen at the tournament. Unfortunately, they fell just short of being promoted to the top division.
Based on his pedigree and experience, Klassek appears to be a talented defenseman with the potential to be an impactful player in the top 4. He’s a bit of a wildcard in terms of how he transitions to the NCAA since he’s coming from a very weak league overseas, but his professional and international experience means he has faced his fair share of tough competition. I’m expecting him to contribute immediately, even if it’s on the 3rd pairing at first, but I think he is talented enough to play top 4 minutes and see time on the power play if he can adjust quickly. He will be an exciting and intriguing player to watch this fall. Congratulations to Thomas and his family!