'I Knew I Had That In Me'

NEWARK – This was more than a return from shoulder surgery.

And miles more than your average recall.

For Kevin Rooney, it was a journey of self-discovery.

“It wasn't so much 're-inventing' myself, as it was about getting back to why I was successful and why I was able to play in the NHL for the last four years and be on a team that played in the Eastern Conference Final,” Rooney, a former Devil, said following Wednesday’s practice in his old haunts.

“I knew I had that in me.

“But at the beginning of the year last year, for whatever reason, I wasn't as comfortable making plays, holding onto pucks, and maybe being a little more selfish like I needed to be.

“I had to get back to what made me successful and what made me an NHL player to begin with.”

You have to go back.

Way back to Dec. 9, 2022, when the 29-year-old pivot received the news no professional – let alone one with more than 200 games of big-league toil under his belt – wants to hear.

But he wasn’t exactly surprised, either.

“I needed to work on a lot of things in my game when I got sent down last year,” he recalls. “And credit to the Wranglers coaching staff. Joe (Cirella), Don Nachbaur, it was Mitch Love and then Trent Cull this year. They all took the time to work with me, even though I'm an older guy and maybe the priority might be on some of the younger players that were up-and-coming through the system. But credit to them for still believing in me and giving me that opportunity to go do what I do best.

“I didn't want to go down and pretend that I was a goal-scorer or something that I’m not. I needed to go down and do what I did in the NHL, and if I could chip in a little offensively? Great.”

On paper, the plan was perfectly sound. What it didn’t account for was the emotional burden – the heaviness that comes with having something you love deeply stripped away from you in an instant. And while a return to the NHL was always within reach, the seeds of doubt were planted early in his AHL tenure when it became clear that even that level would test him beyond anything he expected.

“When I first went down, I was a little frustrated with myself and where I was at,” he said. “That took a toll on me for about the first 10 games or so.

“Then, once I got comfortable with that group, it was just about improving every day and I could start seeing the results.”

While offence isn’t what he was there for, Rooney finished the 2022-23 campaign with five goals and 17 points in 51 regular-season outings, before adding another three assists in nine playoff appearances.

But it was then, when he went home for the summer, that true change began to take hold.

“Especially nowadays, if you're not getting an edge in some way, someone else is going to run right past you,” Rooney said. “So, one of the things I did was I watched a ton of video and realized that I needed to become more of a possession player. That's something I did well in the past, but for one reason or another, had gotten away from.

“First, I need to be using my speed – and for me, you see it when I'm getting in on the forecheck.

“If I'm first on those pucks, instead of maybe rimming it back to the D or trying to make a play as quickly as possible, I have to keep my body over the puck and use my size. Holding onto the puck, dragging defenders over to me, and then kicking it out to the guys I'm playing with – that’s what makes me successful and allows me to have an impact on the game.”

When Rooney arrived for training camp in the fall, he looked like the player he describes.

Fast.

Feisty.

And physical, too.

The Canton, Mass. native had easily earned himself a spot on the Flames’ opening-night roster with those traits on full display … until fate intervened.

Rooney tumbled awkwardly to the ice and then into the end boards during practice in the late stages of training camp. He knew something was terribly wrong, gently dragging himself upright, before lumbering off to the dressing room while favouring a shoulder that soon go under the knife.

Four months later, he not only returned to the NHL (with approximately 40 family and friends on hand for the momentous hometown game), but he had a considerable impact on a 4-1 Flames win over the Bruins that drew all sorts of praise from his head coach.

And none of it was by accident.

He worked for this.

He scaled a mountain of adversity, re-established himself and faced one last, incredible roadblock on the highway back to his dream.

“I took a look in the mirror and talked a lot with the Flames strength and conditioning staff – Gordo with the Wranglers and Rick (Davis) here with the Flames – we put a plan together to help me get stronger in areas where I thought I was weak. Then, on the ice, I worked with a different skills coach to try and change things up and get some new ideas. I put that all together and came back as a confident player.

“A guy that, I know, can play in this league.”

Rooney logged 12:34, recorded one shot, one hit and was 50% on faceoffs in his first big-league tilt in 429 days in Tuesday's 4-1 win over the Bruins.

His line with Jakob Pelletier and Walker Duehr drove possession and gave the Flames something the skipper, Ryan Huska, believes “(they) haven't seen for a little while.”

The key now is to maintain that high level of play.

To remember, with how hard he worked to get back here, there’s no sense in letting his foot off the pedal.

“I as talking to my brother about this. I haven't been that nervous for a game in a long, longtime time,” Rooney said. “So, I was kind of happy that the first one back was at home and somewhere I'm comfortable playing, with a lot of family and friends there to make it a little bit easier for me.

“To play like that in the first game, it's definitely a good recipe for what our expectations are as a line. That’s now the standard for us and we’ve set it pretty high.

“You saw a little bit of what I’m hoping to bring consistently for this team last night.

“But I still know there’s more for me on the table.”