Mitchell Prowse has been a steadying force for the Victoria Royals.
While not overly flashy, his consistent play has made him a key member of the Royals defensive corps.
As Victoria has faced injuries on their back-end, Prowse has remained durable, playing in all 51 games so far this season.
Last season was also a solid year for Prowse as he had 17 points and was a +21 while playing in 71 games. That plus/minus ranking was good enough for fifth best among WHL defenceman and tops among Royals d-men.
Reflecting on last season, Prowse said “I felt last season was a really good step up from the year before. I had a lot bigger role on the team and was expected to play a lot more minutes and I learned a lot from my 16-year-old season. I took that and all the knowledge that the older guys passed down to me and I thought I brought that in the last season.”
Prowse’s play got him noticed as last summer he was invited to the Vancouver Canucks development camp. At just 18-years-old, the Victoria defenceman was the youngest invite to the camp. “That was an amazing experience,” recalled Prowse. “It was just really awesome to see what it’s like in that kind of environment. How professional they are and how hard it is to really stand out at that level. It was a great experience that I hope to take with me and learn from it”
Banking on last year’s experience, Prowse can provide a leadership role to the younger players coming up on the Victoria defence. Along with veterans Ralph Jarratt and Scott Walford, Prowse has been helping with the development of younger players such as Remy Aquilon and Parker Malchuk. “We have a great group of guys. It’s super fun working with all those guys. They’re always looking to learn new things and it’s kind of cool being able to pass down the knowledge.”
While not known for being an enforcer, Prowse is always willing to come to the aid of his teammates. Notably, he had his first fight of the season versus Kelowna. Prowse and the Rockets Mark Liwiski were serving penalties, when on the their return to the ice, Liwiski immediately caught Dino Kambeitz with a big hit. Without hesitation, Prowse sought retribution and squared off with Liwiski. “We have a really tight knit group here,” recalled Prowse. “We all stand up for each other and Dino would have done the exact same thing for me. It goes both ways, standing up for everybody.”
It is that level of commitment that continues to earn him the respect of his teammates and the trust of the coaching staff.
Royals President & General Manager Cameron Hope offered a final word on Prowse, “He does everything right and you’re never afraid to put him on the ice, even when he was a 17-year-old. He won’t show up on the stats line necessarily, but at the end of the night, he makes a big contribution with all of the little things that he does on the ice. He’s quietly efficient but we’re glad to have him and he just gets better.”
