Junior Rome played
junior hockey in the
Western Hockey League (WHL) from 1999 to 2004. After debuting in one game for the
Saskatoon Blades in
1998–99, he registered 6 assists over 47 games in the
following season. During his rookie WHL season, he played alongside older brother Reagan Rome as defensive partners for a short span (Reagan played five games for Saskatoon in 1999–2000 before moving to the
Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League). Returning to Swift Current following his draft for the
2002–03 season, he recorded a junior career-high 12 goals and 56 points, ranking eighth among league defencemen in scoring. Late in the
2003–04 season, he was traded to his fourth WHL team, the
Moose Jaw Warriors, where he joined his younger brother,
Ashton Rome (also a defenceman). he was named to the WHL East Second All-Star Team. Completing the season with Portland, he tallied 25 points, including an AHL career-high 8 goals. He was recalled once more for the Ducks'
2007 playoff run, appearing in one post-season game. The Ducks went on to win the
Stanley Cup that year. As Rome did not play in the
Stanley Cup Final, he did not qualify to have his name engraved on the trophy. Anaheim did, however, award him a Stanley Cup ring, as well as the customary day spent with the trophy in the off-season. Rome was assigned to the Blue Jackets' AHL affiliate, the
Syracuse Crunch, immediately following the trade. After appearing in 41 games with Syracuse, scoring 3 goals and 24 points, he was called up to Columbus on February 26, 2008. After his first Blue Jackets
training camp in September 2008, Rome was placed on
waivers. After clearing, he was assigned to start the season with Syracuse. He played the majority of the season with the Canucks, notching 4 assists in 49 games, while also appearing in 7 games with Vancouver's affiliate, the
Manitoba Moose; he scored 6 goals and 7 points in the AHL. During a three-game stint with the Canucks that season, he played
forward for the first time in his career. He appeared in one playoff game for the Canucks in 2010, missing nine games due to injury. He scored for the first time as a Canuck on March 29, 2011, an
empty netter in a 3–1 win against the
Nashville Predators. It was his first goal in 109 games. Rome finished the 2010–11 season with an NHL career-high 56 games with a goal and four assists as the Canucks won their first Presidents’ Trophy in team history. In the
2011 playoffs, he scored his first NHL post-season goal against
Antti Niemi of the
San Jose Sharks in Game 2 of the third round – a 7–3 win, giving the Canucks a 2–0 series lead. The following game, he was injured off a boarding hit from Sharks forward
Jamie McGinn. Rome was sidelined from the rest of the game; McGinn received a five-minute penalty on the play, but did not receive further discipline from the league. Rome would miss the final two games of the series due to a concussion and in his absence, the Canucks would go on to clinch their spot in the
Stanley Cup Final. In game three of the finals against the
Boston Bruins, Rome checked Bruin forward
Nathan Horton to the ice with a late hit to the head. Horton sustained a severe concussion and was taken off the ice on a stretcher. Rome was ejected from the game after being assessed a five-minute major penalty for interference and a game misconduct. After a disciplinary hearing the next morning, Rome was assessed a four-game suspension and missed the remainder of the 2011 Stanley Cup Final. The NHL determined that Rome hit Horton over a second after Horton delivered a pass to a teammate. The NHL considered a hit to be late if it takes place more than half a second after a player loses possession. The Canucks were outscored 23–8 in the seven-game series loss to the Bruins. Later in the month, he missed three games with a thumb injury. During the
2013–14 season, Rome played 7 games in the AHL with the Texas Stars, and 25 games with the Dallas Stars, scoring no goals and just one assist with the NHL club. On June 16, 2014, Rome was placed on unconditional
waivers by the Dallas Stars, and the following day (after he cleared waivers) Dallas confirmed their use of a
compliance buyout, allowing the team to save
salary cap space by removing the final year of his three-year, $4.5 million contract, from the team's salary calculations. As a free agent, Rome was unable to secure an NHL contract, and instead accepted an invitation to attend the
Detroit Red Wings training camp on a try-out for the
2014–15 season. At the completion of the Red Wings pre-season, Rome was released and later signed to a professional try-out contract with the
Norfolk Admirals of the AHL on October 22, 2014. After two games with the Admirals, Rome was released from his try-out contract. ==Personal life==