When the Boston Bruins take to the ice for their season opener against the Florida Panthers in October, their lineup will undoubtedly look drastically different from the one fans saw last season. With a multitude of departures through free agency and trades, the Bruins were tasked with assembling a new roster featuring some unfamiliar faces aiming to leave their mark in Boston sports history. When the dust settled from the bulk of the offseason transactions, the Bruins were left with a massive hole in their top six. This has led many to believe that either Fabian Lysell and Georgii Merkulov will be competing in training camp for that position—a fair conclusion given the circumstances. Still, those two names aren’t the only ones general manager Don Sweeney mentioned when discussing possible youth promotions this season. That’s where Riley Duran comes into play.
Duran, a 22-year-old from Woburn, Massachusetts, has played in just 11 total professional games to date. After being drafted in the sixth round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, Duran returned to the USHL and scored eight goals and 19 points in 47 games with the Youngstown Phantoms before making the jump to Providence College. After three seasons in the collegiate ranks, Duran joined the Providence Bruins last season and scored two goals and four points in 11 games while being held off the scoresheet in the postseason.
The intrigue surrounding Merkulov and Lysell makes sense. Merkulov scored 30 goals and 65 points in 67 games with Providence last season and already has roughly a handful of NHL games under his belt. Lysell scored 15 goals and 50 points in 56 games and has a lot of hype surrounding him as a first-round pick from the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. Duran, on the other hand, doesn’t come with any of this hype. His most successful scoring season came during the 2022-23 season when he scored eight goals and 20 points in 29 games; he scored 10 goals the season prior, though in 38 games.
The intrigue surrounding Merkulov and Lysell makes sense. Merkulov scored 30 goals and 65 points in 67 games with Providence last season and already has about a handful of NHL games under his belt. Lysell would score 15 goals and 50 points in 56 games and has a lot of hype surrounding him as a first-round pick from the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. Duran, on the other hand, doesn’t come with any of this hype. His most successful scoring season came during the 2022-23 season when he’d scorer eight goals and 20 points in 29 games; he’d score 10 goals the season prior, though he’d do so in 38 games.
Why, then, was Duran singled out by Sweeney when discussing potential promotions who could follow in the footsteps of Matt Poitras and John Beecher from last season?
Duran Impressing Bruins Early
The first thing to consider when analyzing this July 1 quote from Sweeney is that he never mentioned Duran as a potential top-six candidate.
“I think we’ve made some hard decisions with players,” Sweeney said to reporters. “I think this year, (Matt) Poitras and (John) Beecher were good examples of that. That they played well enough, they earned their opportunity, and I would say to (Georgii Merkulov) or Fabian (Lysell) or Riley Duran or keep going down the list, just pin your ears back, train your ass off this summer and come with the intent that there’ll be an opportunity here. If you’re the best player, then we find a way to get you in the lineup.”
If Duran does win a spot out of camp, it will almost certainly be in a bottom-six capacity. Admittedly, Sweeney also didn’t close the door on other players being in the running for an NHL roster spot, as evidenced by his statement, “or keep going down the list.” Still, mentioning arguably the Bruins’ two best forward prospects in the same sentence as Duran has to bode well for the impression he’s left on the team in such a short time.
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This seems to be the case, as Providence Bruins head coach Ryan Mougenel gave Duran a glowing review during Bruins’ development camp.
“For me to be transparent, I think he was a lot better than what I was expecting,” Mougenel said. “And not saying that I had him, you know, at a different standard, but we were really surprised at how well his game had grown and how confident he was in the American League. He was absolutely excellent for us.”
This alone would have been enough of a statement to garner excitement. It wasn’t all Mougenel had to say, though.
“We’re excited about his growth, his development, the person, his work ethic, being a great teammate,” Mougenel said. “I think Providence College does an amazing job with that. We’ve been very lucky to get two players over there in Michael Callahan and Riley Duran. I think the first thing that’s evident is how great teammates they are and their work ethic. We’re very excited where Riley’s development is going.”
Even if Duran doesn’t find himself on the NHL roster out of training camp this season, his skillset and demeanor appear to be exactly what the Bruins are looking for in a player. He should be one of the first players in line for a call-up this season if he starts the year in Providence, which wouldn’t be the worst thing for his development as he gets more acclimated to the pro-style game.