Sean Kuraly was a fifth round pick in the 2011 NHL Draft. The former Miami (OH) standout is currently a grinder on the Boston Bruins fourth line and has played a key role in a few wins for the Bruins this season. Kuraly used all four years of his eligibility at Miami and ended his career as a captain.
Miami Redhawks
Freshman Year: Kuraly burst onto the scene playing in 40/42 games as a freshman. He tallied 12 points off of six goals and six assists. Two of those goals coming against Michigan State in the elimination game of the 2013 CCHA Quarterfinals. Kuraly also played in the World Juniors his freshman year where he helped lead the U.S. team to a gold medal.
Sophomore Year: His sophomore season saw him play in all 38 of the Redhawks games. He over doubled his freshman year point totals, racking up 29 off 12 goals and 17 assists. He took Miami to the championship game of the inaugural NCHC Tournament where they lost to the Denver Pioneers.
Junior Year: Kuraly again played in every game his junior year. He matched his previous season’s point total, but this time scored 19 goals while assisting on 10 more. He lead the Redhawks to their first NCHC Tournament Championship and to a one seed in the 2015 NCAA Tournament. The Redhawks were upset by the Providence Friars who went on to win the National Championship.
Senior Year: For the third time in his career, Kuraly played in every game. His goal scoring slowed down, only scoring six, but tying his career high of 17 assists. The defending conference champions were beaten in the first round of the conference tournament by Minnesota Duluth. From there Kuraly went to Providence to play in the AHL while awaiting his call up to Boston.
Boston Bruins
Kuraly received his call up early in 2016 in a game against the Tampa Bay Lighting, but wasn’t able to score his first goal until the playoffs later that season. He scored two goals including a 2OT game winner against the Ottawa Senators in the 2017 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. As mentioned, Kuraly has scored some big goals for the Bruins this season. In late December, he had a stretch where he scored three goals in five games including back to back game winners. The first game winner came in overtime against the Buffalo Sabres while the next came against the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2019 Winter Classic.
As a Bruins fan, Kuraly has become one of my favorite players on the team. He’s shown a lot of good things this season and has a promising career ahead of him. For more hockey coverage follow us on Twitter @StudentUHockey.
