Bassen Brings Experience to Wenatchee in 20-Year-Old Season
WENATCHEE, Wash. – When Riley Bassen’s 2025-26 season began, he was battling to get into the lineup at NCAA Division I Merrimack College as a freshman. When his 2025-26 season came to an end, he departed the ice to the cheers of more than 4,000 fans at Town Toyota Center as the Wenatchee Wild closed their Western Hockey League home schedule in front of their biggest crowd of the year.
Bassen came to the Wild at Christmas and ended his season with 20 games in the Wenatchee lineup and 11 points, including four multi-point games. The adjustment to the league’s rugged, physical style didn’t take long – he opened his brief stay in the WHL with a multi-point game on December 27, earning an assist on his very first shift in the league before scoring a game-tying goal on his first third-period shift in a 5-4 win at the Spokane Chiefs.
“It was a lot different. The adjustment from youth hockey to juniors is a big step, but I don’t think the adjustment was that big for the WHL,” said Bassen. “I was practicing with college guys for the first half of the year – teams have lots of guys in the USHL that are throwing their bodies around and really working hard.”
The Frisco, Texas native first stepped into the sport at age 6, and doesn’t remember a time when he wasn’t on the ice. It isn’t difficult to imagine where his hockey talent came from – Bassen’s family history in the sport runs deep. His dad Bob played 765 games in the National Hockey League, spread over 15 seasons. A generation before, grandfather Hank won 47 NHL games as a goaltender, and became the Pittsburgh Hornets’ final backstop in 1967 as they skated into the history books as the American Hockey League’s Calder Cup champions before giving way to the NHL’s Penguins that fall.
Uncle Mark played almost 450 professional games in the United States and Germany, and even cousins Boaz and Chad have taken their talents to the pros in Europe.
“I know Boaz really well. Boaz is playing for the [Schwenninger] Wild Wings in the DEL,” said Bassen. “We haven’t grown up together, but we stay in touch a little bit, and I get to see him every once in a while. I don’t know Chad that well – he’s later in his career, and the age difference between us is pretty big. His dad and mom and sister just came to watch in Canada on our last road trip of the year, so it was nice to see them, and we talked about Chad a little bit.”
Riley played four seasons of AAA hockey for the Dallas Stars Elite club before making the move to juniors, becoming a consistent point-per-game scorer in Texas on his way to United States Hockey League stops in Iowa and North Dakota. He spent two years with the Cedar Rapids Roughriders, before being dealt to the Fargo Force for the 2024-25 campaign, and made Clark Cup playoff appearances in two of his three USHL campaigns. This time, there was an adjustment period, though his first step onto the USHL ice revealed a good sign of things to come – his first preseason game also featured his first unofficial goal, an eventual game-winner less than 14 minutes into a victory over the Madison Capitols.
It is difficult to hop right into the junior game out of AAA and make an impact, but Bassen did eventually get settled in and find his footing. Navigating life away from home for the first time was one of a few challenges he had to wrestle with after moving on to Cedar Rapids.
“I don’t like the cold. That’s why we live in Texas,” said Bassen. “That was a big thing for me, driving in the snow and having no idea how. It was a learning experience for sure.”
After 149 games in the USHL, his collegiate stay with the Warriors was brief – Bassen did not appear in a game during his first semester at Merrimack, and opted to return to the junior ranks for a final time. The initial connection to Wenatchee was made not this season in Massachusetts, but three years ago in Cedar Rapids, thanks to one of the Valley’s final Junior A stars: current North Dakota forward Cade Littler.
“It was a weird first half of the year. I went there and didn’t really get a shot,” said Bassen. “I roomed with Cade (in Cedar Rapids) – I’m not sure if [Wild general manager] Bliss [Littler] knew me that well, but that was one of my connections. It worked out pretty well.”
Bassen’s return to junior hockey brought him to a circuit that is quite familiar in family circles – his dad played two full seasons in Medicine Hat and won a World Junior gold medal and an Eastern Conference all-star nod during the 1984-85 season. Mark would log 146 games in the WHL for Calgary, Lethbridge and Brandon, and Chad played 238 games over four years in the league, including a trip to the Memorial Cup with the Regina Pats in 2001 and a near-miss with the Everett Silvertips three years later.
Bassen became an immediate leader in the Wild dressing room, earning the team’s captaincy by the end of the season and responding well to the Wild coaching staff. He says his dad’s lessons stayed with him throughout his junior career as well, pushing him to stay consistent with his workouts and his work ethic. At the same time, he admitted he likes the balance of being able to learn his own lessons and figure the sport out on his own.
“Some guys don’t have parents that push them like that,” said Bassen. “I’ve been pretty lucky to have a father that knows what it takes to get to the NHL and where you want to go. He knows how to push the right buttons, and if you work hard and compete, you’ll have no regrets.”
As for his future plans, Bassen appears poised to return to the NCAA game and says he’s close to a decision on his next destination – however, nothing final will be decided upon until the NCAA transfer portal opens on April 13, following the Frozen Four championship.
