Welcome to the Detroit Red Wings monthly prospect report! Each month we’ll be looking over some of the more notable news involving players from the Wings farm system.

This edition was very defense centered. With stories spanning from Sweden to the province of Quebec.

The season to date has been a learning curve for Malte Setkov, the Wings 4th round pick in 2017. After a slow start with Malmo of the SHL he was knocked down to the under-20 league back in August. He quickly showed he was too good for the junior ranks, scoring 3 points in 3 games, quickly being recalled to the pro team.

Since remaining with Malmo he has yet to register a point. The team kept their confidence in him with his ice-time slowly rising each game. After the midpoint of October is when things started to change. His responsibilities were decreasing with his ice-time reaching as low as 8:44. The breaking point for his coach came early in a match-up against Frolunda. He had a brutal turnover that lead to a goal in the game and that was the last shift he saw. Totaling just 1:49 TOI for the game. Setkov has been a healthy scratch ever since.

It’s unfortunate for a player who isn’t good enough for the league he is currently in, but also too good for the league below him.

It was fun while it lasted for Red Wings fans. After a slew of injuries to the defensive corps in Detroit, four young defensemen got the chance to play in Filip Hronek, Joe Hicketts, Libor Sulak, and Dennis Cholowski. While Cholowski has secured a permanent spot on the team, the other three have made their way back to Grand Rapids.

This now gives the Griffins a much younger look, having been so depleted that they were icing players on player try-outs. With them back in the fold, their main focus is simple. Hronek will be introduced to some penalty-kill time, Sulak will need to adjust to the North-American ice surface, and Hicketts will need to improve his foot speed and decision-making.

While there may not be much incentive this season, two jobs could be open for the 2019-20 season with Nick Jensen and Niklas Kronwall most likely not returning.

Jared McIsaac has been somewhat lost in the fray. With four D-man getting so much attention in Detroit/Grand Rapids, and QMJHL counterpart Joe Veleno playing on fire, the 2018 2nd round pick has quietly been a workhorse for the powerhouse Halifax Mooseheads.

After sustaining an injury during training camp, McIsaac missed the first 7 games of the year. Upon return, his name has consistently been on the score sheet. In October he picked up a point in all but one game. He’s been the go-to guy on both special teams, logging the heavy minutes.