Two days before the start of the Utah Mammoth’s 2025-26 season, every NHL player was with their team, preparing for the 82-game battle ahead. Kevin Rooney was at home, fighting his own battle, which was trying to earn a pro contract in North America, hopefully in the NHL.
Rooney was no stranger to the league. Over his career, he had played in 330 NHL games, putting up 60 points. He was coming off one of his best seasons in his career after playing nearly a full campaign with the Calgary Flames, producing 10 points, the third-best in his career.
However, after the season, Rooney didn’t receive a contract offer from the Flames. He was left to find work in a league that had seemingly bypassed him.
It took Rooney nearly half a year to earn another shot at being an NHL player. It took him a trip to Tucson for people to realize it, but the veteran forward isn’t ready to give up on his pro hockey career yet. With his recent call-up, he’s ready to prove he’s still a valuable NHLer.
A Contract Earned Through Hard Work
Rooney’s offseason wasn’t one stockpiled with vacations and relaxation. It was one filled with work.
He went to the gym every day. He was on the ice every day. It was all with a goal in mind. To earn a contract and be back in the NHL in October.
“I’m lucky,” Rooney said. “My family and my circle back home were there for me. I tried to go to the gym and go to the rink every day with a purpose: to get better, to prove people wrong, and to prove to people that I can still play even though I’m a little bit older.”
Rooney’s hard work eventually turned into a professional tryout agreement with the New Jersey Devils. It’s a team he’s familiar with. It was the first NHL team that gave him an opportunity after his four seasons with Providence College. He ended up playing in the Devils organization for five seasons before signing with the New York Rangers.
Related: Mammoth’s Michal Kunc Is All in on His NHL Dream With Move to Tucson
In the preseason, Rooney played in three games with the Devils, producing one assist. While it wasn’t anything groundbreaking, Rooney proved that he can still keep up with others in the league despite the NHL getting younger and younger.
“The NHL has kind of shifted, and it’s a lot of younger guys,” Rooney said. “You only get so many of those veterans. I wanted to keep working hard and show that I can compete with young guys.”
The gamble with the Devils paid off. On the night before the start of the NHL season, the Mammoth and Rooney agreed on a one-year, two-way contract.
The same night, Rooney was sent down to the American Hockey League’s (AHL) Tucson Roadrunners. General manager Bill Armstrong made it clear what he wanted to see out of Rooney going into Tucson. He also had a message for the veteran: be ready.
“He (Amrstrong) was very transparent, right when I signed, calling me and letting me know what he expected of me,” Rooney said. “Come down and try to be a leader in the locker room. Play hard, and good things will come. Injuries happen, so you just have to be ready for your chance.”
A Short but Productive Time In Tucson
Despite being one of the newest players on the team, Rooney is no stranger to some of the players on the Mammoth. In Providence, Rooney actually assisted on the NCAA championship-winning goal that Brandon Tanev scored. During his tenure with Providence, the two were actually roommates.
Rooney also works out with John Marino during the summer. He made sure to do his research with those two and other players around the league on the teams in Salt Lake City and Tucson before signing with the Mammoth.
“I talked to guys throughout the league,” Rooney said. “I know a lot of guys who have played down here in Tucson and played for the staff. I tried to do my due diligence there, but it was really going to be up to me to come in and play hard, try to be a leader, and help the team in any way.”
To begin the season with the Roadrunners, Rooney was placed on a line with Daniil But and Sammy Walker. He made an immediate impact when he scored the game-tying goal with 29 seconds left in the season opener against the Ontario Reign, which Walker later won for the Roadrunners in overtime. Rooney then went on to score two more times and tally an assist in the next three games to produce four points in his first four games.
Alongside Rooney, Walker tallied five points in four games, while the rookie But currently has three points. It’s been the best line for the Roadrunners so far offensively, and Rooney has enjoyed playing with his two other teammates, especially the young But who he’s been trying to mentor as he chases his own dreams of making his NHL debut.
“I think each of us brings a different thing to the table,” Rooney said. “But is a young guy, still learning the language. We’re trying to help him the best we can, but he’s done a great job. It’s not easy for a guy like that to come over and succeed right away, so we’re very happy with the way he’s been playing, and we’ll just keep working with him, trying to help him as best we can so he can get to the next level.”
Funny enough, two of those first four games were against the Calgary Wranglers, his former team. While it was weird for Rooney to play against some of his former teammates, it felt good for him to get some points against his old team. Especially one that dropped him in the summer.
“It feels great to get some points against a team that didn’t really want you,” Rooney said.
Roooooney with a big one in the 3rd, starting to close the gap in this one!
— Tucson Roadrunners (@RoadrunnersAHL) October 20, 2025
LOONEY TOONEY ROONEY#LetsGoTucson pic.twitter.com/dpoIjor7qA
Head coach Steve Potvin has coached many players over his past couple of seasons of coaching the Roadrunners. He’s coached veterans who have excelled in the AHL and probably don’t deserve to be in the league like Kailer Yamamoto last season. For Potvin, despite wanting to see his own team thrive, he doesn’t want to see a player who deserves to be in the NHL on his team.
Potvin says Rooney falls into that category. Despite this, he’s loved having the veteran forward in the team’s locker room and around younger guys like But and Maveric Lamoureux.
“He’s been great, and he fits in with our group,” Potvin said. “He wants to play. He’s one of those guys who finds enjoyment in the game, and it’s a pleasure to be around him. Our guys are definitely going to appreciate being around him, and he’s going to help our team grow.”
Despite being in the AHL, it’s not a bad spot that Rooney has ended up in. There are quite a few AHL markets that have extremely cold winters. Tucson is not one of those markets.
Rooney is excited for his family to come down and see him play. However, he’s most excited to move into his apartment. Rooney has been living in a hotel since signing his PTO with the Devils. He’s happy to finally have an actual living space.
“I’m moving into my new place soon,” Rooney said. “I’m really excited to get out of the hotel. It’s been a long time in the hotel since September 3. I’m ready to get out of it and get my family here. I’m also excited about the weather and getting to know people in the community.”
Call-Up to Utah
Unfortunately and fortunately for Rooney, life in a hotel hasn’t ended for him yet. On Thursday, he was called up to the Mammoth, just in time for their four-game road trip in the Midwest.
For fans who don’t know Rooney and his style of play, he’s an aggressive bottom-six player who is hardworking and isn’t afraid to be physical. He’s been great on the Roadrunners’ penalty kill and gives it his all. Despite a hot start in the AHL, Rooney doesn’t want his style of play to change, even with an NHL call-up.
“I want to continue to be a hard-nosed guy, a guy that’s going to lead by example,” Rooney said. “I want to be really good on the penalty kill, help the team in the face-off dot, and try to chip in offensively. It’s been a good start, but I want to continue to work at it. I know there are areas of my game, I need to continue to get better at to keep improving.”
It’s been a crazy past couple of weeks for Rooney. His life has been spent away from his family in a hotel room in two different time zones just for the chance to continue his career in the NHL.
However, Rooney’s path to getting a contract and now a call-up to the NHL is a prime example of what can happen if you work as hard as you can to achieve your goals. It might’ve all the way to the eve of the new season, but now Rooney is doing everything in his power to prove to his new team he’s still a force to be reckoned with.
“I know it was a late signing, but I just kept working hard throughout the summer, and I’m glad things are paying off,” Rooney said. “It’s been a good start. Hopefully, we can keep it going.”
Those endless nights in a hotel room in Newark and Tucson, away from his family, have paid off. A hardworking summer was worth it. Rooney is once again an NHLer. Even if his time with the Mammoth is short, the fact that he waited nearly 100 days for another shot in the NHL is back, thanks to incredible play in the AHL, shows true dedication to his will to play pro hockey. What isn’t surprising is that it’s Rooney doing it, a player who has known nothing but hard work since day 1 in the NHL.
