Introduction
Adam Clendening (born October 26, 1992) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Clendening was raised in Wheatfield, New York. He was selected 36th overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.
Playing career
Prior to his professional career, he played for Boston University, and played hockey in Canada for the Toronto Marlboros' AAA junior team.
Clendening was part of Team USA's gold-medal-winning team at the 2010 IIHF World U18 Championships. During the tournament he led all defensemen with 10 points, and tied for the lead among defensemen with 3 goals and 7 assists. His 10 points ranked 6th among all players in the tournament, and his 7 assists ranked 4th. He was named as one of the defensemen to the tournament all-star team and as one of Team USA's 3 top players.
He made his NHL debut on November 20, 2014 and scored his first NHL goal on his first shot against Jonas Hiller of the Calgary Flames. On January 29, 2015, the Blackhawks traded Clendening to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Gustav Forsling.
On July 28, 2015, Clendening, along with Nick Bonino and a 2nd-round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft were traded from the Canucks to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Brandon Sutter and a 3rd-round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.
Clendening made the Penguins roster to open the 2015–16 season. He posted 1 assist in 9 games with Pittsburgh before he was again included in a trade, alongside David Perron to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Carl Hagelin on January 16, 2016. He was put on waivers and claimed by the Edmonton Oilers two weeks later, on January 27, 2016. This marked the fifth organization Clendening would join within the year, though he never actually played for the Anaheim Ducks organization.
On July 1, 2016, Clendening signed as a free agent to a one-year, two-way contract with the New York Rangers.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2008–09 | U.S. National Under-18 Team | USHL | 57 | 1 | 13 | 14 | 56 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | U.S. National Under-18 Team | USHL | 26 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Boston University | HE | 39 | 5 | 21 | 26 | 80 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Boston University | HE | 38 | 4 | 29 | 33 | 64 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Rockford IceHogs | AHL | 73 | 9 | 37 | 46 | 67 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Rockford IceHogs | AHL | 74 | 12 | 47 | 59 | 64 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Rockford IceHogs | AHL | 38 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 17 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Utica Comets | AHL | 11 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 28 | 23 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 26 | ||
| 2015–16 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | AHL | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 20 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 50 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | United States | WJC18 |  | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
| 2010 | United States | WJC18 | | 7 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 4 | |
| 2012 | United States | WJC | 7th | 6 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| Junior totals | 20 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 14 | ||||
Awards and honors
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| College | ||
| All-Hockey East Rookie Team | 2010–11 | |
| All-Hockey East First Team | 2011–12 | |
| AHL | ||
| Second All-Star Team | 2012–13 | |
| First All-Star Team | 2013–14 | |
| International | ||
| IIHF World U18 Championships All-Star Team | 2010 | |
| IIHF World U18 Championships Best Plus/Minus | 2010 | |
| IIHF World U18 Championships Most Points by Defenseman | 2010 | |
| IIHF World U18 Championships Top 3 Player on Team | 2010 | |