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The COVID-19 pandemic scuttled the Western Hockey League regular season and playoffs, but related matters continue.

The Victoria Royals traded veteran defenceman Mitchell Prowse to the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Friday for 18-year-old forward Nick Dorrington.

“This was really tough,” said Royals general manager Cameron Hope.

“We drafted Mitch Prowse out of bantam [in the second round in 2015] and he has been here since he was 16 years old. But that’s junior hockey. They are all going to leave sometime.”

The six-foot-two Prowse played 239 career WHL games in Victoria with nine goals, 81 points and 200 penalty minutes.

The Royals were front-loaded with 10 19-year-old players this past season. Moving the Okanagan-native Prowse leaves the Royals with nine potential returning 20-year-olds for next season. WHL teams are allowed only three such players.

“We have a lot of work and sorting out to do,” Hope said about the over-age situation for 2020-21.

Although not as lauded as B.C. Division rivals Vancouver Giants or Kamloops Blazers, the Royals firmly believe their 19-year-old depth would have carried the club further into the playoffs this spring than pundits could have anticipated. But nobody will ever know.

“It sits in the pit your stomach,” added Hope.

The six-foot-three Dorrington, meanwhile, brings some size and youth up front as the team now looks to the future. A product of the Yale Hockey Academy in Abbotsford, the Langley native had a goal and assist and 18 penalty minutes in 36 games this past season as a Hurricanes rookie.

“We’ve had our eye on him for a while,” said Hope.

“He’s one of those players who hasn’t shown yet what he can be. He has a lot of interesting tools.”

Meanwhile, the Royals announced that fans who hold unused vouchers, or had purchased tickets, for any of the team’s three cancelled regular season home games can keep them for use during the 2020-21 season.

“The cancellation of the season and playoffs was part of the sacrifice to control this pandemic,” said Hope.

“But people have been re-upping their season tickets for next season. That is the core group that loves this team and they have been showing their support. That has been extremely gratifying.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday announced $500 million of relief through Heritage Canada that will be targeted specifically for the sports, arts and culture sectors. There has been no statement from the WHL regarding that.

cdheensaw@timescolonist.com

Twitter.com/tc_vicsports