Sean Kuraly

Drafted 2009, 5 #60 by Indiana Ice in the USHL Futures Draft
Drafted 2009, 15 #283 by Plymouth Whalers in the OHL Priority Selection

Sean Kuraly is a centre from Dublin, OH, one of the main suburbs of Columbus. He was drafted by San Jose in the 5th round in 2011, but never played within their organization. He played four years at Miami University (Ohio) and was part of the 2013 World Junior Champion US Team during his freshman year.

Kuraly was traded to the Bruins along with a 1st round pick for Martin Jones shortly after wrapping up his senior season at Miami Ohio, during which he served as the team’s captain (2015-16). He played his first pro campaign last season, mainly for the Providence Bruins, but earned two call-ups to Boston and found himself in a bottom-6 spot for their 1st round matchup against Ottawa. Kuraly made headlines after scoring his first two NHL goals in Game 5 of the matchup, the first to tie the game late and the second to win in 2OT.

Kuraly is known for his defensive prowess and could develop into a steady and versatile 2-way forward. He has never put up eye-opening numbers (apart from one season in the USHL), but he posted a respectable 26 points in 54 games as a rookie in Providence last year, and in any case his impact on a game often seems to lie beneath the hard offensive numbers.

In 2017-18, he was the oldest of Boston’s talented rookie forward corps at 24. Kuraly ultimately projects as a defense-first 4C who will play difficult minutes for his team, and will be trusted to take d-zone starts to help get his team out of jams.

(Peter Oundjian, EP 2018)