by Jordan Conn | AHL Rhythm
Every youth hockey player signs up for life as a Providence Bruins forward Riley Tuft.
He won two NCAA national championships and scored 93 career hockey goals, including one this season with the Boston Bruins. However, he has also overcome a lot of adversity to get to where he is now.
A native of Coon Rapids, Minn., Tuft fell in love with the sport at an early age, skating on frozen ponds and outdoor rinks with his two older brothers and attending games at St. Cloud State University, where his uncle was the head coach.
When Tuft was 11 years old, he was playing for Blaine Peewee when he noticed something was wrong.
“I'm super thirsty all the time,” said Tuft, who won a national championship at his hometown University of Minnesota-Duluth. “I would come off the ice and sit on the bench and drink water
I drank a whole bottle of water and still felt thirsty. I can't get enough water. I couldn't stop going to the bathroom every five minutes. I think I lost about 20 pounds. I feel listless and exhausted
time. “
His mother, a nurse at North Memorial Hospital, noticed some symptoms and took him to St. Paul's Children's Hospital. He was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease
A disorder in which the immune system destroys insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, causing little to no insulin production and leading to high blood sugar.
This was tough news for a boy who dreamed of playing hockey at the highest level.
Doctors told Tufte he needed to “calm down” and that he might not be able to compete as well as he had hoped.
Tuft learned more about his diagnosis from one of his teammates who also has Type 1 diabetes.
“I actually asked him about diabetes about three weeks before I was diagnosed. It's nice to have a teammate who's going through the same thing as you, especially at such a young age.”
A diabetes diagnosis didn't slow Tuft's drive to play professional hockey, but it did change his lifestyle. He started taking extra precautions on and off the ice to make sure his body was ready not just for games, but for everyday life.
“I prick my fingers 10 times a day,” Tufte said. “Every time I eat or drink something with carbs or sugar, I give myself a chance. There's a lot that goes into it. It's a game of maintaining your blood sugar level because you don't want it to get too high or too low. It's eating at the right time and sticking to it. It's challenging, but when you do it every day, you get better and understand how your body feels.”
Shortly after his diagnosis, Tuft received an email from Toby Petersonthen a forward for the Dallas Stars, also had Type 1 diabetes. Peterson's letter inspired Taft to follow his passion and
Helps him see others battling the same disease achieve their goals.
Seven years later, Tuft was drafted by Dallas in the first round (25th overall). After four seasons with the organization, he signed with the Colorado Avalanche as a free agent in the summer of 2023, while Peterson was hired as the Avalanche's skills coach.
“We got to talk about everything, including the letters he wrote to me when I was 11 years old. Now, he's the head coach of the Texas Stars. It's a small world. Everything goes backwards, and it's a really cool story.”
Now in his second season with the Bruins, Tuft carries a green bag labeled “DIABEAUTY” on the bench every time he takes the ice for practices and games.
“When I was younger, people called me 'Diabeauty,' and I thought it was a cool name, so I stuck with it. My coach actually made this (bag) for me when I was at Texas. I put my monitor, some insulin, shots, finger pricks, and other extra supplies in it.”
Tuft has been committed to developing as a hockey player and he averaged 0.72 points per game in the 2024-25 season with the Providence Bruins, the highest score of his AHL career. this season,
He totaled 23 points in 23 games and ranked third on the team with 11 goals.
The 6-foot-6, 233-pound forward is thinking about what he would tell his 11-year-old self.
“The message is don't give up,” he said. “Times are going to be hard; there are good days and there are bad days. Everybody goes through those days. Especially people with diabetes, some days are better than others. I would say, hang in there.”
