The New Jersey Devils are set to open preseason in just under two weeks. With that, the team recently dished out a couple professional tryout (PTO) contacts. On Friday, the Devils announced they agreed to PTO contracts with forwards Luke Glendening and Kevin Rooney, as well as goaltenders Georgi Romanov and Adam Scheel. Camp is set to begin on September 17.
For those unaware, PTO contracts do not guarantee a roster spot, though, gives that said individual a chance to compete for one and participate in training camp and preseason games.
Luke Glendening
The 36-year-old Luke Glendening has 864 career NHL games under his belt. He spent the first eight seasons of his career with Detroit, before splitting the last four with Dallas, then Tampa Bay. He has skated in at least 70 games the last four seasons, averaging about 11 points per year.
Glendening has consistently been one of the better penalty-killing specialists in the league for years. His face-off percentage has sat in the high-50% range recently, specifically, at 57% last year, and is at 55.8% in his career. In 2024, his 1.5 shorthanded goals above replacement (GAR) rating, according to Evolving Hockey, ranked 27th among 599 forwards.
Unfortunately, outside the penalty killing, and face-off prowess, Glendening does not provide much else. As mentioned, his point production is down at 11 over an 82-game schedule over the last four seasons. Additionally, his offensive GAR on-ice metrics over the last season rank in the league’s first percentile. Specifically, his offensive GAR rating from last year was the third-worst in the league among 599 forwards
At this point in his career, Glendening does not really provide much, and, when factoring in his offensive play, is a net negative asset. He does have 50 career games of postseason experience, but outside his penalty killing and face-off successes leaves a lot to be desired.
Kevin Rooney
Kevin Rooney is a familiar face to Devils fans as he was with the organization from 2016 through 2020. Rooney was signed as an undrafted free agent by New Jersey out of Providence College. He appeared in 95 games with the Devils, posting 19 points playing 12:03 of ice time per night. The 32-year-old skated in 187 games with the Devils’ AHL affiliate totaling 75 points and serving as Binghamton’s team captain in 2018-19.
After leaving New Jersey, Rooney had stops with the New York Rangers and Calgary Flames. He was with New York for two seasons and Calgary for three. Combined, he skated in 235 NHL games over that seven-year period posting 41 points. He also appeared in 55 AHL games posting 18 points.
In his latest season, with Calgary, he posted a career-high in games played at 70, totaling five goals and five assists over 9:25 of ice time per night. His 47.2% efficiency on the face-off dot was the second-highest mark of his career (46.3% efficiency in his NHL career). Rooney, as he has done throughout his career, posted strong on-ice defensive metrics (90th percentile) according to Evolving Hockey’s GAR metrics. Specifically, his special teams GAR rating ranked eighth among 925 skaters last season.
The 32-year-old is your prototypical hard-working, checking fourth line center who excels defensively, and specifically, on the penalty kill. He could fit the No. 13 or 14 forward role well.
Georgi Romanov
Goaltender Georgi Romanov is only 25 years old. The Russian spent the majority of his younger days in Russia’s junior and minor league systems excelling. In 86 MHL (top Russian junior league) games, he posted a 0.938 save percentage and a 0.916 save percentage across 80 VHL (top Russian minor league) games.
He made the jump to North America for the 2023-24 season within the San Jose Sharks’ system. He appeared in 29 AHL games (0.904 save percentage) and seven ECHL games (0.877 save percentage). Romanov got a taste of the NHL, stopping 29-of-30 overall in two relief appearances. Last season, he played 21 games in the AHL, posting a 0.905 save percentage and also got eight games at the NHL level where he posted a 0.877 save percentage and a -4.02 goals saved above expected (GSAx).
Romanov is an option for the Devils in either the AHL or ECHL. New Jersey currently has Nico Daws, Tyler Brennan, and Jakub Malek under contract and set for minor-league time.
Adam Scheel
The second goaltender the Devils agreed to a PTO deal with is 26-year-old Adam Scheel. Scheel is an undrafted free agent out of the University of North Dakota. He put up big numbers in college, posting a 52-18-5 record, 1.95 goals against average, and 0.916 save percentage across three seasons. In 2020-21, he was named NCHC Goaltender of the Year and led North Dakota to a conference title.
Scheel then signed with the Dallas Stars after his college career concluded. He spent three seasons within the Stars’ organization then, most recently, with the Avalanche organization. He has 101 AHL games under his belt (0.905 save percentage) and 62 ECHL games (0.914 save percentage). The Lakewood, Ohio native has not appeared in a NHL game.
His best professional season came in 2022-23 where he played in 37 ECHL regular season games, posting a 28-8-0 record and 0.932 save percentage, as well as 18 ECHL playoff games with a 0.913 save percentage. His team was swept in the Kelly Cup Finals.
Like Romanov, Scheel is an option for New Jersey in the minor league system, likely for Adirondack in the ECHL, if he is signed after his PTO.