Riley Duran: First NHL Contract with Boston Bruins

By Justin Fields

Dreams to reality for Massachusetts homegrown Riley Duran as the Boston Bruins signed him to two-year entry level contract with the squad after being selected in the sixth round of the NHL Draft back in 2020. He will finish the remainder of the season with the Providence Bruins on an ATO (amateur tryout contract) at a yearly cap hit of $867,500.

For the past three years Duran has been a key forward of the Providence College Friars and appeared in the 2022 World Junior Championship with team USA. In 102 games with the Friars he racked up 55 points, with 27 goals, and assisting 28. Duran’s aggressive and gritty play style is a key component to why Boston pulled the trigger.

Riley Duran is a flat out dog who will work his tail off to find success and it all started back at Lawrence Academy where he attended before his time at Providence. His hustler mentality was something that stood out to his Robbie Barker, his english teacher and hockey coach who noticed that he wouldn’t take no for an answer when he continued to re-write papers until he received the grade he wanted and after a rough start to his young career he turned into “one of the best players in prep hockey”.

Barker also added in an interview with The Athletic, “Nothing comes easy to him but he’s gotta go-getter mentality that has proven that if he does put his mind to it, he’s going to accomplish it at some point. It may not be as quickly as some of his teammates or his classmates but he’ll accomplish what he wants.” Duran always knew what he was worth and the spark he brought to the table and the 182nd pick in the 2020 NHL draft was not going to let it go to waste as he signed his first NHL contract on Sunday March 24, 2024.

The kid from Woburn is going to continue to bring that grit to his Boston Bruins.