Boston University defenseman Adam Clendening has signed with the Chicago Blackhawks and will forgo his final two years of school, according to RDS’s Renaud Lavoie. Clendening’s deal is for three years at $650,000 per season, Lavoie reports.

Clendening tallied four goals and 29 assists and earned a spot on the Hockey East First Team last season. As a freshman, he registered five goals and 21 assists and made the Hockey East All-Rookie Team. The Blackhawks picked Clendening in the second round (36th overall) in the 2011 NHL draft.

Rumors circulated in December that Clendening might leave BU mid-season, but he shot those down in an interview with College Hockey News. The rumors naturally popped up again once the season was over, but sources told CHN that the Blackhawks wanted him to stay at BU another season. On Thursday night, Clendening told The Boston Hockey Blog that Chicago showed increased interest lately and that he “felt it was the right time.”

Clendening’s departure leaves BU with five returning defensemen, plus incoming freshman Matt Grzelcyk. The Terriers will almost certainly add another defenseman or two over the summer. One possibility would be Marc Hetnik, who was originally committed for this fall before it was decided that he’d spend another season playing for the Vernon Vipers of the BCHL.

If the Terriers can fill their defensive holes without using Clendening’s scholarship, they could potentially use that to go after USHL Player of the Year Kevin Roy, who is reportedly looking into getting out of his commitment to Brown. The Pipeline Show named BU as one of the schools Roy would be interested in if he does decommit.