Riley Niven: Racking up goals and assists for Moose Jaw Warriors
MOOSE JAW, Saskatchewan — Born on March 19, 2003, 18-year-old Riley Niven signed for the Moose Jaw Warriors U18 in the 2020-21 season of the Saskatchewan Male AAA Hockey League. On joining the Warriors, Niven was named the assistant captain. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always happen in the game of hockey, most especially when it comes to a team like the Moose Jaw Warriors.
“Riley brings skills and character, his best attribute is skating with lots of speed,” said Jason Ripplinger, the Moose Jaw Warriors General Manager, speaking about the leadership character of Niven.
In the 2016-17 season, Niven joined the Estevan Bruins U15 AA in the Saskatchewan AA Hockey League. In 28 games, he scored nine goals and provided six assists. He was ranked seventh in the skaters’ statistics, although he played fewer games. He also scored a goal in five games during the playoffs.
Meanwhile, he moved to the Canadian Sports Hockey League in the next season, where he joined the Rink Hockey Academy U15 Prep. That year, Niven had an eye for assists rather than goals in both the regular league and playoffs. He played 30 games with the Rink, scored three goals, and provided 17 assists in the regular season. Only five players had more assists than him in the regular league. He also scored one goal and provided three assists in the 2017-18 playoffs.
In the 2018-209 season, Niven was able to strike a balance between scoring goals and providing assists in the Rink Hockey Academy Elite 15s. He scored a record number of 15 goals in 35 games, which was his career highest at the time. Niven was ranked sixth in the skaters’ statistics. This was also his best ranking at the time. He also provided 14 assists in the same season.
In the playoffs, he scored one goal and provided three assists in four games. He concluded the season by playing two other games in the Rink Hockey Academy Prep in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League U18 and provided one assist.
He was named the assistant captain of the Rink Hockey Academy Prep U18. We can’t really explain what happened that season, but it’s safe to say that the leadership position helped Niven bring his A-Game to the team.
Riley Niven broke several personal records. He scored a record of 23 goals, provided 31 assists, and was ranked third in the skaters’ statistics. All these were things he had never achieved on a personal level since he started playing for the Estevan Bruins and Rink Hockey Academy. His 23 goals was the highest goal recorded by any player in the skaters’ statistics. He also scored one goal in the playoffs in two games played.
The forward maintained his assistant captain position on joining the Warriors. He earned two goals and provided six assists in the Saskatchewan AA Hockey League before moving to the Warrior’s Western Hockey League. He provided an assist in the 14 games he played in the Western Hockey League.
Wawota-born Niven is for sure a fine forward who is 5-foot-11, weighs 68 kilograms, and has one of the best leadership characteristics. The forward has already scored one goal and provided one assist in the 9 games he has played in the 2021-22 season.
Sit down and keep counting as Riley Niven racks up goals and assists this season.
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