Why Bruins Prospect Riley Duran Impressed Providence Coach

BOSTON -- Bruins prospect Riley Duran joined Boston's AHL affiliate in Providence for 11 games after completing his collegiate career last season.

Duran tallied two goals and two assists in the regular season before going pointless in four playoff games for the P-Bruins.

Providence head coach Ryan Mougenel told reporters after Day 3 of Bruins development camp why Duran was thrown to the wolves at the end of the AHL season and how he impressed the coaching staff.

"Super pleased," Mougenel said. "For us, he probably him the process, probably got expedited a little bit because we had some call-ups, and he got put in a role with Patrick Brown, and he was awesome."

Mougenel admitted he was not expecting to see how much Duran's game had grown during his last season with Providence College.

"For me to be transparent, I think he was a lot better than what I was expecting," he 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."

The fourth-year coach credited Duran's coaches at the collegiate level for helping the 22-year-old Woburn, Mass. native's development.

"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."

Duran had a solid stretch at the collegiate level, tallying 27 goals and 28 assists in 102 games. Mougenel explained why Duran surprised him at the professional level.

"His skill set surprised us the most probably," Mougenel said. "I thought he was more of a little bit of a grinder, which he has. But his skill set, his hands, his speed, his separation, his willingness to get inside."

Mougenel continued: "We put him in a lot of different spots. He played special teams, and we recognize that's a tough time of the year for most college players or junior players coming in when things get ramped up a little bit, but he excelled at that. We're very pleased with him."

Bruins general manager Don Sweeney singled out Duran, Georgii Merkulov and Fabian Lysell as three players who could be battling in training camp for a spot on the NHL roster. If Duran impressed Mougenel at the AHL level, the next step would be to impress Boston bench boss Jim Montgomery.