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 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.”
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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.”