Wolf Pack, IceHogs complete deal

Photo: Brad Repplinger

The Hartford Wolf Pack have acquired defenseman Adam Clendening from the Rockford IceHogs in exchange for forward Zach Jordan.

In addition, Tuesday’s trade between the New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks included a swap of AHL defensemen in Cooper Zech and Andy Welinski.

Clendening has recorded three goals and 21 assists in 48 games with the IceHogs this season, his 11th pro campaign. In 492 career AHL games with Rockford, Lehigh Valley, Cleveland, Tucson, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Utica, Clendening has totaled 48 goals and 261 assists for 309 points. He played in the AHL All-Star Classic in 2013 and 2020, and was a Second Team AHL All-Star in 2012-13 as well as a First Team selection in 2013-14.

Clendening has also skated in 36 postseason games in the AHL, reaching the Calder Cup Finals with Utica in 2015.

Originally selected by the Chicago Blackhawks in the second round of the 2011 NHL Draft, Clendening has played 90 games in the NHL with Chicago, Vancouver, Pittsburgh, Edmonton, the New York Rangers, Arizona and Columbus and has totaled four goals and 20 assists for 24 points.

Welinski has tallied four goals and 12 assists in 40 games with the Wolf Pack in 2022-23. The seventh-year pro has played 270 games in the AHL with Hartford, Stockton, San Diego and Lehigh Valley, recording 39 goals and 100 assists for 139 points.

An AHL All-Star in 2018, Welinski has also totaled four goals and 17 assists in 47 Calder Cup Playoff games.

Originally a third-round pick by Anaheim in the 2011 NHL Draft, Welinski has played 46 games in the NHL with the Ducks, notching one goal and five assists.

Zech has played 13 games with Rockford this season, tallying one goal and one assist. In 144 career AHL games with Rockford, Lehigh Valley and Providence, Zech has registered five goals and 33 assists for 38 points.

Jordan has spent most of this season in the ECHL with Jacksonville, posting 17 goals and nine assists in 43 games. He has played 47 career AHL contests with Hartford and Cleveland, recording six goals and three assists for nine points.