What's Up With Shakir Mukhamadullin?
After an outstanding 2023-24 campaign for the San Jose Barracuda, in which Shakir Mukhamadullin scored 7 goals and 27 assists in his first full season in North America, Mukhamadullin has not performed at the same level this season.
After missing all of training camp and most of October, Mukhamadullin has not lit up the score sheet to start the season. Through 11 games, he has 4 assists and no goals. With half of the assists coming on Friday in the Barracuda's 5-3 win against the Abbotsford Canucks.
Did Mukhamadullin peak last season, or is there a reason he hasn't been producing at the same level?
The Injury
Shakir Mukhamadullin missed the rookie tournament in Los Angeles with what was deemed "general soreness." Later, it was called a lower-body injury in training camp.
While the injury was never clarified, Mukhamadullin has clearly been working his way back into skating shape, and his game has suffered. On Saturday night's Coaches Corner, John McCarthy mentioned that Mukhamadullin's skating is returning and that he has confidence in the puck on his stick.
Last Saturday against the Toronto Marlies, Mukhamadullin got the puck in his own zone with a clear path to try and start skating with it but instead passed it to a teammate who was surrounded by defenders. The puck was sent back to the defensive zone, where Mukhamadullin turned it over again before his defensive partner Jimmy Schuldt grabbed it.
On Friday, against the Abbotsford Canucks, you saw Mukhamadullin be a more active skater and was rewarded with a great opportunity.
Mukhamadullin remains at his best when he moves with and without the puck. If his injury sapped his confidence, he is slowly getting it back now. While Mukhamadullin isn't a perfect puck mover, as seen in his brutal turnover that leads straight to a Canucks goal, it's one of his better strengths.
While defending, he still has great range and speed, as seen in the above clip. He pressures an attacker at the red line and can still get back to tie up another attacker to shut down a potential 2-on-1 situation.
As he regains his confidence from his injury, this should hopefully help his improvement. It was evident that he continued to get better with each performance.
Change In Role
A role change is the biggest reason for Mukhamadullin's lack of production. Last season, Mukhamadullin was arguably the most essential defenseman to the success of the San Jose Barracuda.
Leon Gawanke was the Barracuda's top-scoring defenseman until he left mid-season to return to Germany. Radim Simek was traded at the trade deadline for Klim Kostin. Nikolai Knyzhov is bouncing between the ECHL and AHL. While Jack Thompson helped to fill the Gawanke role after the deadline, Mukhamadullin had a clear path to playing top minutes in critical situations, including the power play.
This offseason, San Jose Sharks General Manager Mike Grier and San Jose Barracuda General Manager Joe Will went out of their way to fortify the blue line for the Barracuda.
Newly minted Captain Jimmy Schuldt has over 300 AHL games under his belt and is seen as one of the best defensive defensemen in the league. Joey Keane, who signed an AHL deal after a training camp PTO, has almost 300 games between the NHL, AHL, and KHL. Lucas Carlsson, who is still rounding into shape from an ACL injury, has over 450 professional games to his name between the SHL, AHL, and NHL. Carlsson has been a dynamic scorer in the AHL, with 35 goals over the last two seasons.
This also doesn't include the emergence of 19-year-old Luca Cagnoni, who is tied for the league lead in goals for a defenseman. Cagnoni has quickly established himself as the top power play quarterback for the Barracuda. The Cuda currently sit 4th in the AHL at a 22.2% power play, up from 19.8% last year.
This isn't to knock Mukahamdullin; the Cuda went out of there to build a much stronger, more veteran-laden team. Valtteri Pulli, who led the team in games played last year, can't even get on the ice.
Mukhamadullin is still earning big chunks of ice on the team; he has been playing a much different role. As he has been paired with Jimmy Schuldt over the past three games, Mukhamadullin has focused more on playing a shutdown, stay-at-home defensive role. He is currently working on some areas that need to be shored up before he becomes a full-time NHL player, and that is what the Barracuda have afforded him because they have a better supporting cast on the blue line.
This doesn't even include the better depth of the forward group, which takes the pressure off of Mukhamadullin to have to press for the offense. Last season, Mukhamadullin needed to be a catalyst for the offense as the Barracuda roster was ravaged by either injury (Tristen Robins, Danil Gushchin, and Anthony Vincent missed large chunks of the season) or because the Sharks needed players who were expected to be big contributors (Justin Bailey and Ryan Carpenter).
The Barracuda have a much better team this year suited to deal with injuries and roster issues because of the depth in all three groups. This takes the pressure off of Mukhamadullin to have to force issues and allows him to focus on what he needs to do to become a better defenseman.
What's Next?
While the expectation this offseason was for Mukhamadullin to compete for a roster spot on the Sharks, this could potentially be a blessing in disguise. Mukhamadullin was always known to be a raw project that needed some time. Last season, we saw the offense from him in his first full season; now, he is finishing school to make sure that when he does get the call-up, he is ready to make the jump for good.
One of the things Mukhamadullin can do better is be more assertive in his decision-making. This also can stem from a confidence issue but it has always been something Mukhamadullin has struggled with since his draft year.
When Mukahamdullin makes a decision and doesn't second guess himself, he can make things happen. Here, he waits for the puck to squirt out, grabs it, and goes. He generated a quality opportunity because he decided to push the pace.
Mukahamdullin has come along with his positioning and his strength as well. He keeps the forward pinned behind him, checks him, and pokes the puck to his defensive partner, Schuldt. This, combined with his range, makes him an intriguing player for the Sharks, and it's easy to see why they think so highly of him.
While the Sharks defensive group feels like a logjam right now, it's easy to see where Mukhamadullin fits into the group. Cody Ceci and Jan Rutta are in the last year of their deals, and Mario Ferraro could also be moved at the trade deadline this season.
Even with Timothy Liljegren in the mix and Jack Thompson as the seventh defenseman, the Sharks will have an opportunity for Mukhamadullin to get a tryout in the NHL at the end of the season. Jake Walman, who is having his breakout season, will continue to get his minutes, but Mukhamadullin should get real minutes as a middle-pair defenseman and ample power play time.
This season will most likely be a fine-tuning season for Mukhamadullin, with a soft opening at the end of the season. He can take whatever he needs to continue to iron out into the offseason and be penciled into the Sharks starting lineup for the 2025-26 season.