Lawrence Academy junior right wing and Providence commit Riley Duran should be selected in the 2020 NHL Draft this coming June in Montreal. I've seen Duran play since his freshman season at Woburn High School. He went to Malden Catholic for a year before repeating his sophomore season at Lawrence in 2018-19. Now, he's a junior at...
Lawrence Academy junior right wing and Providence commit Riley Duran should be selected in the 2020 NHL Draft this coming June in Montreal.
I've seen Duran play since his freshman season at Woburn High School. He went to Malden Catholic for a year before repeating his sophomore season at Lawrence in 2018-19. Now, he's a junior at Lawrence and primed to hear his name called June 27 in one of the final rounds of the draft.
Duran isn't without his faults, but after seeing him twice over the past couple of weeks, I'm more convinced than ever that he's the second best prospect in prep hockey -- only behind St. Mark's defenseman Ian Moore, a Harvard commit from Concord, Mass.
Duran scored a goal in each of my recent viewings. Lawrence won the first game over Dexter by a score of 6-2 and skated to a 2-2 tie with Thayer. Both games were on the road. However, it's not just the goals. In fact, the goals are just gravy in my opinion for why a team should select Duran.
Versatility and upside are the two main reasons I'd draft Duran in rounds five through seven if I were a NHL organization. Duran measures in at 6-foot-1 and he's got room to fill out and get stronger over the coming years.
While Duran plays wing on Lawrence Academy's top line, that's not where I see Duran moving forward. The Woburn, Mass., native will likely find a home as the third line right wing in pro hockey. He has the size, skating ability, and compete level to be a north-south player, cycle pucks below the dots, forecheck with tenacity, and kill penalties.
That's not to say Duran won't be able to find the back of the net. He has a powerful stride and can bull his way to the scoring areas before unleashing a hard shot. His hands aren't elite, but he can find other ways to produce. His length, shot and ability to protect pucks are all above average.
This isn't meant as a knock on Lawrence Academy as the school has produced quite a few top players of late, but Duran's game will flourish as he makes the jump to junior hockey in the USHL and then onto college hockey at Providence.
Lawrence plays a more wide open system with very little structure. Duran's style of play will mesh very well with the way Nate Leaman structures his game plans at Providence. Duran will learn some of the intricacies of how to defend and how to play on the penalty kill.
After the prep season is over, Duran will play some games in Youngstown. Scouts would be wise to keep close tabs on him in the USHL. Overlooking him for the draft will come back to hurt teams that choose to do so.
