‘You can see a surprise team in any league’ – Adam Clendening

13 October 2024

Defenseman Adam Clendening was one of the eye-catching signings of the summer. So it’s hardly surprising that his arrival at Red Star brought the media to the club to find out more. Championat.com’s Dmitry Starozhev recently published an interview with our defenseman, and we’ve summarized the best bits – from the talent in our squad to a memorable playoff upset – for you right here.

Clendening, 31, might have come to the KHL earlier in his career. Those planned moves didn’t work out and he got his first taste of European hockey last season in Finland with Ilves Tampere. But this summer the time – and the place – was right for him to enter the Dragons’ Lair.

“There were other options in the KHL, but the family side plays a big role for me,” he said. “[I was looking for] A big city like Moscow, a little less travel with how many teams are around there, stuff like that. Especially for my first season here, that was important for me.”

‘I WAS SURPRISED WE GOT A PLAYER LIKE THAT’

And with head coach Mikhail Kravets talking up the team’s prospects for success this season, Adam is buying into the future of Kunlun.

“I know this club didn’t have a lot of success and we’re looking to change that as a group,” he said. “I think we’re more competitive with some of the people we’ve brought in.

“For example, I played a bit with Nail Yakupov in Edmonton. He’s a great player and I was surprised we got player like that. He’s been great for us since he got here.”

Could that be catalyst to realize head coach Kravets’ talk of competing for medals?

“You can see a surprise team in any league and I’d like to think the coach is right to be ambitious,” Adam added. “Certainly, he’s putting us in the right direction and making us as competitive as we can be. But he’s only a coach. It’s the players who go out and play so it’s up to us to make it happen.”

The relationship with Kravets is going well and the language barrier isn’t a problem. “Mikhail speaks English so we all understand him. There are a few Russian guys who can help get the message across when we need it. For me, he’s been great. The communication is nice an open.”

Speaking of coaches, Adam played under the ever-controversial John Tortorella during his time at Columbus. Although Torts can be a divisive figure, the defenseman has nothing but praise.

“He’s amazing, a very good human being,” Clendening said. “He cares a lot about his players as people as well as hockey. He’s really good at pushing the right buttons inside the dressing room and getting guys to become very close. But at the same time, he’s pushing each player to be at their best. He does a great job of that. When you talk to a lot of players who have played for him, they understand and appreciate it more times than not.

“I appreciate his coaching style. It’s a little more old-school. Something I kinda grew up with. He was always very honest and open to me and to our team. Exactly what you’re looking for as a player.”

‘I OFTEN THINK ABOUT HOW WE BEAT TAMPA’

Under Tortorella, Clendening helped the Blue Jackets to a sensational sweep of Tampa Bay in 2019. That, along with his first NHL goal, remains a treasured memory – not least because it was his only taste of NHL playoff action.

“It was crazy! They were the best team in history that year in the regular season. They set some records and we beat them,” Adam remembered. “To be a part of that was really cool. We had a really good team, everyone was very close in Columbus. We kinda understood exactly what we needed to do, and we did it.

“It was a huge upset at the time. I always think to myself, maybe we kinda helped them, because right after we beat them, they went onto two Stanley Cups. I often think about it. It was a pretty cool memory, a good series.”

In his time in the NHL, Adam played on rosters with several former KHL players – including former Dragons’ goalie Magnus Hellberg in New York. One of the most prominent among them is Artemy Panarin, one of the brightest Russian stars in the game, who joined Columbus in a deal that got the club a generational talent.

Clendening is waiting to see if his former team-mate can be a Hall-of-Famer. “It’s not for me to decide. He’s still relatively young but the way he plays … He’s got more seasons ahead of him and with all his stats and the awards he’s won so far, there’s definitely a good chance.

“I don’t see what’s holding him back other than maybe he doesn’t win the cup.”