SAN JOSE – Defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin, one of the key players the Sharks acquired from the New Jersey Devils as part of last month’s Timo Meier trade, was set to arrive in the Bay Area from Russia on Thursday, although it remained unclear when he would play his first game with his new organization.
Mukhamadullin, 21, was one of New Jersey’s three first-round draft choices in 2020 and just completed his fourth season with Salavat Yulayev-Ufa of the KHL. He was eager to come to California and meet people inside his new organization, a team official said. Thursday, the Sharks assigned him to the Barracuda of the AHL.
The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Mukhamadullin had 25 points in 67 regular season games for Salavat Yulayev, which is coached by former Sharks player Viktor Kozlov. The team lost in the KHL’s conference quarterfinals as Mukhamadullin had a goal and an assist in the six-game playoff series.
Sharks coach David Quinn said earlier this week he’s looking forward to meeting Mukhamadullin, already considered one of the Sharks’ top overall prospects.
“I’ve gotten a lot of good reports on him,” Quinn said. “I’ve never seen him live, obviously, but other people like him, so it’s going to be exciting to have him here.”
Now that Mukhamadullin is with the Barracuda, he could play as soon as Friday or Saturday when the team hosts the Texas Stars for two games, although the date of his next game was not immediately known.
After this weekend, the Barracuda play games in Colorado on Tuesday and Wednesday and host Bakersfield next Saturday and Sunday. Mukhamadullin is in the first year of his entry-level contract after he was loaned by the Devils to Salavat Yulayev at the start of the season.
The Barracuda, which is fighting for a playoff spot, has 12 regular season games left after this week. The Sharks, already eliminated from playoff contention, have 12 more games after this week, with their last game on April 13.
One of the other players the Sharks received in the Meier deal, defenseman Nikita Okhotyuk, has an undisclosed injury and has yet to play a game for the organization at either the AHL or NHL level.
Okhotyuk, 22, played 20 games for Utica of the AHL and 10 games for New Jersey before his injury. His last game with the Devils came Jan. 26, and his last game in Utica was on Feb. 11.
LONG ROAD BACK: Forward Jonah Gadjovich skated again Thursday morning and is making progress from an upper-body injury but said he doesn’t have a clear timeline for when he might play again.
Gadjovich, 24, last played on Feb. 12 when he was injured during the Sharks’ game with the Washington Capitals.
“I just took an awkward bump and banged up my arm and did some damage,” Gadjovich said.
Although Gadjovich has averaged nine minutes of ice time per game in 35 games this season, he adds a certain physical dimension to the Sharks’ roster, as he leads the team with nine fighting majors.
Perhaps it’s an ingredient that has been missing at times during the Sharks’ most recent slide.
After the Sharks’ 5-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Saturday, Quinn said there have been instances this season where he’s felt opposing teams have taken liberties on some of his players.
Whether it’s only partially related to Gadjovich’s absence, the Sharks, prior to Thursday’s game with the Seattle Kraken, had gone 2-10-2 since the forward was injured.
“I just want to be out there with the guys in the trenches,” said Gadjovich, a pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights. “When I see guys taking liberties, obviously, that’s something that I’ll kind of enforce myself and it just makes me want to come back even more and try to help the boys win.”